The Midas Touch
by AlphaTheGriffin17
Summary: Synthetic Saga 3. The fifth of their number. A precursor. A teacher. A friend. Abandoned and deactivated long ago. But now, she's back. She has no body, but she has a mind. And this mind knows exactly what game she needs to play to tear them apart from the inside. The past comes back in the present and sometimes, there's a reason it stays buried.
1. Wakey Wakey

**Wakey Wakey**

The warehouse was silent. Deathly silent. Working hours were long since over. Everyone had gone home after a hard day's work. The various stored items, ranging from kids toys to industrial rigging remained in their designated storage spaces. The only sounds came from the occasional scampering of a rat or the faint sounds of cars passing by outside. Nothing stirred.

Well, except for one place. One of the warehouses. One of the windows had opened and a rope was tossed inside. Moments later, a man descended the rope with as much care as he could. He hit the floor with a bit of a stumble, but he took out his torch and shone it around. This was the place, he thought.

There were stories about this particular warehouse that they'd found out during their investigation. Warehouse number 15. During the day, it was just like any other of the warehouses. But at night, strange things were said to happen. People had heard what sounded like carnival music echoing around inside. The sounds of heavy footsteps moving around. The lights flickering on and off. They said that it was haunted.

That was exactly what Ernest Matheson was here to find out. Well, not exactly. The thing was he'd worked at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza as the night guard. One of a few who had. Then he'd found out on his first day what they were concealing from him and gotten out as fast as he could. He'd gone to the management but they'd denied everything. Everybody thought he was crazy.

Until he found out about the others. They too had worked the night shift before they found out about its dirty secret. There were only five of them, but they were determined to unearth the truth and expose what they were hiding. Their tip off and their researches had led them here. They were so close now. All they had to do was find what they were looking for.

Wasting no time, he hurried to the door. He unlocked it and let it swing open. Four other figures crept inside and they shut it behind them quickly. He shone the light over them. They all wore hoodies, but he could still see the mousy face of the young woman in front of him.

"Nice work, Ernie!" she praised. "Knew you could do it!"

"Thanks, Jenny," he mumbled. "It wasn't that bad, really."

She was the only girl in the group. He'd met her, along with the others, through the same site. They talked quite a lot and these days, Ernest came along mainly because of her. She was the only one he let call him Ernie.

"Alright, let's not get distracted here," urged Daniel. "Remember why we came here. Split up and spread out. When we find what we're looking for, signal and we'll gather. Everyone got your radios?" They all nodded. "Get moving then."

Wasting no time, he assigned them directions to search in. Ernest ended up getting the north-east part, while Jenny got the north. She waved him off, wishing him luck and hurried away. His cheeks still warm, Ernest got to work.

Their basis for searching here was that they all believed, from what they had seen, that the restaurant was hiding something. They all knew about the Bite and had seen the animatronics moving around at night. Their most recent encounter had dispelled any doubt of that. They'd never been told any of that when they signed up and they'd all left messages for one another for when they'd find out on the phone.

Ernest had been the most recent, with the exception of that guy Mike. Ernest had been the one to leave him his message but he was on _their_ side. They couldn't count on him.

This had been a real undertaking though. They'd monitored the restaurant during the day and had tried scouting the place. But whenever they'd get somewhere they weren't meant to go, a member of staff or even one of the characters, had spotted them and escorted them off the premises. They'd had a hard time getting their story out, even on the internet. Whatever forum they posted on, they'd be immediately debunked and banned.

That was why Daniel had decided to take things a step further. It was time to get some real, decisive proof. They couldn't or wouldn't in most cases, go to the place at night, especially not after their most recent attempt. So, with a little digging and a tip they'd been given, they'd found about this place. It had the name on the manifesto, so they had to keep something important here. After much debate, a break in was decided. Just to get what they needed and nothing else.

Ernest, like many of the others, was very apprehensive about this undertaking. Until their other break in, they'd never done any explicit criminal activity. They'd violated the contract with the restaurant and gotten into some minor legal issues, but they'd been told just to keep quiet. If they were caught doing this after everything else that had happened, they could wind up in jail.

But they all agreed it would be worth it. Hopefully.

Ernest jumped when his radio buzzed. It was Stuart, who'd been sent to the south west corner, asking them to respond. Forcing himself to calm down, he pressed the button.

"This is Ernest," he whispered. "What's up?"

There was a few moments of silence. He was probably waiting for everyone else to report first.

"I found them."

He gave his location. Ernest was the fifth one to arrive to see what he had found.

In one corner of the warehouse was what they had come here for. There was no mistake they belonged to Freddy's. The four animatronics were all here, leaned against a tall crate. Their suits were rather damaged and decayed, falling away to reveal the metal endoskeletons beneath. Their limbs and heads hung limply.

"Yo-ho-ho, matey!" Ernest whipped around to see Stuart, a bit of a clown, moving the fox's mouth up and down. "Who's comin' with me ta hunt some booty?"

"Stop kidding around," ordered Daniel. "This is perfect. Just what we were looking for."

"Why do they have them here?" wondered Jenny. "Why not at the restaurant?"

"They must be spares," suggested Ernest. "They keep these ones in case the others break down and they need spare parts, perhaps."

"I guess. But…" She knelt down, examining the duck. Or was it a chicken? "They look like they haven't been used for years."

"It doesn't matter," dismissed Danie. "They're not important right now. The file said what we were looking for would be in this crate. So, let's get it open."

Gordon, a silent kind of guy with glasses and a beard, stepped up with the crowbar he'd brought. He wedged it into the lid. With a few yanks, it fell away with the guys gently lowering it to the ground so it didn't make too much noise.

Inside was another animatronic. This one looked even older and more decrepit than the other ones. It sat in the crate, sat in a manner that reminded Ernest of a dead body. The mouth hung open in an eerie looking grin. There were no eyes, only black empty sockets. Wires dangled out of the left socket like someone had ripped it out. Its right ear was missing, with more wires left unconnected in its place. It looked like Freddy, but it was painted gold instead of brown.

"That's it?" remarked Stuart. "This is what we came here for?"

"If they're meant to be spares, they really don't keep them in good condition." Jenny bent down to examine it. "This one looks like it's about ready to fall apart."

"According to this information, this one is one of the very first models," read Daniel. "It also says that if access a port in its head, we can gain access to its memory files along with all of these other ones. But this one's the one we want."

Daniel moved Jenny aside and moved in behind the gold Freddy. Ernest could make out some kind of hatch at the back being opened, creaking from the years of rust and neglect. He could hear Daniel muttering to himself, trying to get it working.

A few of them exchanged looks with each other. It seemed like their leader was getting a little too ahead of himself, like last time. At least no one was around to get hurt.

"Daniel," said Jenny, "I think we should be a little more-"

"No," he said sharply. "We have them this time. Even if we can't find these files, we can still use these ones to… got it!" he cried. "That's the one!"

There was a click of a series of switches being pressed. For a moment after Daniel had finished pressing them, nothing happened.

"H-Hey. Uh, did its head just… twitch?" Ernest asked.

"What?" Stewart frowned at it. "Nah, you're just seeing things. It's dark, your eyes are playing tricks. So, what are we supposed to do now?"

Jenny gasped. "I think its hand just moved."

"Enough," snapped Daniel. "I understand you're both on edge, but calm down and focus. We have a job to do here. Now, what does it say to do next?"

"Might wanna figure that out fast," advised Stewart nervously. "I think I can see something glowing in its eyes."

"What is wrong with you all?" he demanded. "You're all acting like-"

But they didn't get to hear what they were acting like. The animatronics' whole body suddenly jerked, like it had just been treated with a defibrillator. Daniel stared at it then jumped when it twitched again, even more pronounced this time. He hurried out of the crate and motioned for them to back away.

The animatronic continued to twitch and writhe, like someone was running an electrical charge through its body. Golden light began to shine from its head. It was small at first, but it was growing ever brighter. The other ones appeared to start twitching too, just a fraction but they were.

"What the hell is happening?!" hissed Stuart. "What did you do?!"

"I… I don't know," muttered Daniel. "I just did what it said to do here…"

"We need to go," said Jenny. "Quickly, before it-"

"Wait, look," Ernest pointed. "I-It's stopping."

The twitching was indeed beginning to die down. After a few seconds, the twitches it did exhibit were only minor ones. Aside from that, the body remained motionless. The head continued sparked with golden light. They leapt away as it sparked and buzzed. It stopped after a bit, but it continued to hum and pulse with energy.

Almost like a heartbeat.

"This doesn't look good," murmured Stuart from the back.

"It's fine," Daniel said sharply. "We could still use it. Maybe it'll listen to us, we can tell it what we want from it. Or we can take it apart, take what we need and go."

But before anyone could do anything, the glow shone brighter. They suddenly became aware of a mechanical whirring. And it was coming from the animatronics. Like the head, the lights of their eyes flashed on, shining red in the dark. Slowly, jerkily, in a manner like the living dead rising from their tombs, they stood up.

And those horrible, red eyes all turned to look directly at them. They all stood frozen to the spot, unsure of what they would do.

Then, Freddy spoke, the actual one. It was in a jerky, stutter animatronic recording but… that wasn't all there was.

"Hey everybody!" he greeted, his mouth not quite moving in time with his words. "It's time to- time to- _time to die_ **-** time to start the show!"

"Why are they all turning on?" hissed Stuart. "D-Did that one just say it was time to die?"

"Just stay calm," murmured Daniel. "Walk away slowly."

"I-I su-s-s-sure am hungry!" expressed Chica cheerily. "L-L-Let's e-e-e-e-eat! Le-e-le-le- _leave no trace_!"

"W-What do we do?" whispered Ernest, raising the metal pipe he'd brought. "What do- AGH!"

Something clamped hold of his wrist like a vice. The pipe fell to the floor with a clang. He saw the fixed expression of Bonnie piercing him with its red eyes.

"H-Hey kids! You r-r-ready to r-r-rock?" The way it asked that made Ernest panic even more.

"Ernie!" Jenny tried to pull Bonnie off. "Let go of him!" Bonnie just swatted her away to the floor with its other arm.

"N-N-No fighting k-k-kids o-o-or we'll h-h-have to- _fix you_ \- have to t-t-tell your parents," it warned.

Foxy darted forward, leering down at her. "I-I-I know j-just what ta do w-w-with this scurvy landlubber! Let's b-b-b-b **-** _gutting her like a fish_ -let's be making him walk the plank!"

"Oh crud!" Stuart's eyes darted wildly. "I'm outta here!" He sprinted back into the darkened warehouse before anyone could stop him.

"Get back here, you coward!" roared Daniel. He raised his gun. "St-Stay away!"

He fired three times at Freddy. One of the bullets passed harmlessly through the suit. The other two clanged audibly off the metal, but didn't impede the bear's advance. It grabbed Daniel's wrist and a fourth shot went wild before it plucked the gun out of his hand.

"N-Now that's pr-pr-pr-pretty dangerous, sp-sport," scolded Freddy. "I-I th-th-think you sh-should a-a-apologise l-l-l-l- _little man_."

"LET GO!" he screeched "LET GO OF ME!"

But they had them. There didn't seem like there was anything they could do. As the animatronics stalked towards them, Ernest heard something else over their metallic footsteps and crude voices. Something that really chilled him.

A giggling. Like a woman laughing mockingly, from behind the animatronics. Like it was coming from the one they had never meant to turn on…

* * *

Hello my friends. So pleased you could join me once again.

I have been very much looking forward to this and to celebrate the end of my exams today, here's a treat for you all. As before, there will be flashbacks at certain points but I will make it more obvious when they occur so no one is left confused. Hope you all enjoy.

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	2. Remembrance

**Remembrance**

Mike Schmidt stirred feebly in his bed. As usual after working a night at Freddy's, he'd just collapsed on his bed clad in nothing but his boxers and drifted off to sleep until he awoke again. His eyes searched around and found his clock. Three in the afternoon. Pretty early by his standards. He lay in his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

He'd had assumed that, upon leaving college, he might be able to get normal sleeping habits again. Being an art major, quite a bit of his time had been spent working on various pieces for assignments that required more than a few all-nighters. On more than one occasion, he had nearly collapsed from exhaustion and been reduced to tears from stress.

Now that it was all over, his sleeping pattern was still awry. But this time, it was for very enjoyable reasons. Though that didn't mean his evenings were completely stress free, as the events of four nights ago had shown him.

Mike still felt a little shaken at the memory. He'd never been involved in a situation where his life and those around him would be in danger. He'd never even imagined taking an active part in stopping it. It was really almost lucky that he'd been able to manage what he'd done to Daniel. If he'd made even the smallest mistake there…

He tried not to dwell on it. They'd all made it out okay and the ones responsible would hopefully get caught before they tried anything else. Mike had gotten in the habit of glancing over his shoulder these past few days. But at least it wasn't all bad.

A small smile tugged at his lips at the thought that his parents, or rather his mom, were no longer on his case about Freddy's. He hadn't heard anything from them since they left for home. Mike could assume that his mom was still processing all that had come to light for her. He could understand why, but worries still crossed his mind.

What if she didn't accept the truth? What if she continued to see only the worst in the synthetics? Would she begin to have doubts about Mike and his job again? What if she tried to forcibly remove him again or expose them?

But he did his best to push those worries down. He'd stood his ground against her and come out still standing. His dad had backed him up too and she'd seen what happened when she took her vendetta against Freddy's too far. Hopefully, it would be enough to make her see sense and Mike could continue working with the most remarkable group of friends he'd ever had.

Or rather, the _only_ group of friends he ever had. Pretty sad, really. But they really were his friends and they genuinely cared. And despite their inhuman nature, he cared for them too. The rambunctious Foxy. The soft spoken Freddy. The cocky Bonnie. The sweet, gentle Chica with her smile as warm as the sun's rays and her voice like…

Mike stopped his mental train when it started to go down that road again. They were all his good friends and that was what was important. Though Chica especially. Always the first to lend an ear and making him feel like he mattered. Trying her best to lift his spirits, even if she wasn't always sure she was. Her shy nature sometimes giving way to a playful side that was almost childlike in essence, probably why she seemed so in her element with kids. She really was…

He stopped that train of thought again. They seemed to happen quite a bit recently.

"What is wrong with me?" Mike murmured to himself. "I think I need to clear my head…"

He pulled on a two day old shirt that didn't smell too badly and a pair of jeans with a couple of small stains on them. Cheese by the look of it. He imagined the look on his mom's face if she saw him wearing this while he pulled on his jacket and made a mental note to do some washing downstairs when he got back.

The air was brisk when he walked out of his apartment. The sun shone feebly through the layer of clouds above, like spring trying to dispel the dying winter moving from February to March. The streets were starting to pack up with the rush hour starting, making Mike glad in this case that he didn't drive much. He took a walk through the small park near his estate and sat down on a bench nearby.

He leaned back against it and felt a sense of tranquillity, the wind caressing his face gently while he just listened and watched the world go by. Sometimes, it was nice to do things like this. It was too bad his friends weren't humans in times like these. Then they could hang out normally, whenever and wherever they wanted to. He always felt sorry for them in that regard, especially after showing them the world outside for the first time. If only they could do it again.

Looking around, Mike spotted a newspaper that someone had left on the bench. He picked it up and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw on the front page.

 _WAREHOUSE RAID FOILED_

 _Police were called to the waterfront late last night to answer reports of a disturbance by wharf watchmen and reports of gunfire coming from one of the warehouses. What resulted was the arrest of five individuals who confessed to breaking and entering and it wasn't their first time trying._

 _The group, led by Daniel Fairchild, were reportedly former employees of the local children's restaurant Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Already wanted by the police for similar offences at the location itself, it seemed as if they wanted to try their luck again and were met with similar results. Only this time, they weren't lucky enough to get away._

 _They were identified and apprehended by the police whilst crying bloody murder about killer animatronics and trying to get those nearby to leave the area. While there were animatronics at the scene of the break in, police have told us they were inactive and perfectly harmless._

" _This lot have been causing us trouble for quite some time," the manager Aaron Johnson told our reporter. "They're convinced that our restaurant is the work of the devil or some such nonsense. They shouldn't have been messing with such sensitive machinery to begin with."_

" _Seems they were after the animatronics," one officer told us. "That Fairchild was raving about how they were set up and tricked. Like we haven't heard that one before."_

 _Mr Johnson went on to tell us that the animatronics at the warehouse were just spares for the ones at the restaurant and that Freddy's would still be keeping its doors open with its characters still performing for kids and grownups alike. Well, we certainly hope that you have good security, Mr Johnson because it sounds like you need it._

Mike skimmed through the rest of the report. The rest was rough profiles taken from the group making them out to be criminals and statements from police. At least now they were locked away behind bars and Mike wouldn't have to worry about them.

While he was relieved that the group had been caught, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly they were doing there. What did they hope to gain by stealing spare parts? Hadn't Freddy once told him about one of those warehouses being an offsite storage location for the old animatronics? Why would Daniel claim that they were set up? Was it really just to throw off blame?

It probably was, Mike thought. They were caught and he was desperately trying any excuse. He seemed the type, considering he was convinced they were doing some justifiable good that warranted extreme measures if necessary. He was sure the others would be glad to hear of their capture and he made a mental note to tell them the news tonight. Hopefully, it would lift the spirits of one of them.

Mike sighed at the thought. Foxy hadn't really been the same since the break-in. He didn't come out of his Cove very much except when he had to and didn't stay out long when he did. They didn't want to try anything beyond gentle coaxing or risk flaring his temper when he wanted to be left alone.

But despite that, Mike wanted to find some way to get him out again. He stood up from the bench and walked off again, thinking of how this might be done. Inevitably, out of some strange sense of habit in conjunction with the article he saw, he wandered towards Freddy Fazbear's. Susie waved him over the instant she saw him.

"Hey Mike, glad I caught you!" she greeted, reaching behind her desk. "These packages came for you addressed for us, but the note attached says it's for you."

Mike took the note. "That's my dad's handwriting."

"Sorry, this one's kinda heavy. You mind coming back here?" she asked.

Mike did so and saw a rather large box. He tried lifting it, but he realised too how heavy it was. The second box was a little lighter and Mike heaved it onto the desk. He opened it and felt a smile grow on his face when he saw what was inside.

Susie peered over his shoulder. "That's weird. What are those doing here? Why did your dad send them here?"

"I think I can guess," murmured Mike. "This is just what I needed."

"For what?" she asked.

"Um, nothing," he said quickly. "Special stuff. You know for… stuff. A-Anyway, can you just keep this stuff here? I mean, I can't take this stuff back to my apartment on my own and I need it here anyway so…"

Susie looked at him oddly before nodding. "Sure thing, Mike." She leaned in to whisper. "I'm so jealous they let you play those on your shift. How did you even work that out?"

"Uh, let's say I know some people," Mike shrugged. "Hold on, I'm going to check on things in there."

"Fine, be all mysterious about it," she joked. "Have a good day, Mike."

He murmured the same wish back to her and stepped into the restaurant. It looked like a busy day, a birthday party by the look of it. He looked around for Bonnie and saw her entertaining a group of kids with her guitar. He managed to catch her eye.

"I've got a surprise for you guys tonight," he said, knowing she would hear him. "Tell the others. See you tonight."

She winked to show she got the message and returned to her work. With that done, Mike left Freddy's, deciding to work on a few more sketches for the rest of the day.

The special excitement that Mike always got for the start of his shift was mounting when he finished locking the back door. The handle had been fixed now, but Mike double checked it just in case. Satisfied, he entered the dining area where his friends were removing their suits.

"Evening everyone," he greeted. "Busy day?"

"Every day is busy for us, Mike," answered Chica, her dress billowing down her legs when she removed her bottom half. "But birthday parties are especially taxing."

"I remember," agreed Mike. "Well, I have something that'll hopefully help you all wind down tonight."

"Yes, Bonnie told us how you have somethin' planned for us," noted Freddy, yanking off his mask. "I await with great anticipation."

"While I lower my standards significantly," put in Bonnie, already out of her suit.

She raised her eyebrows at Mike and smirked. He felt his face grow warm when he caught her meaning. Freddy stepped in and saved him.

"You know somethin', Bonnie, it's really only you who suggests that he has anythin' lewd in mind. Perhaps because you unconsciously wish it were so?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Ew. No. And I never said he did have anything pervy in mind. But this is the guy for who the height of coolness was wearing a cape and pretending to fly."

"Eight years old! Again, eight years old!" groaned Mike.

"And using a stick like a sword whilst quoting things," she added.

"I thought I was alone!"

"And that makes it less bad how?"

"How is that any different than when you do air guitar?" he demanded.

"Because when I do that, it's cool. When you do that, it's dorky." She shrugged. "Sorry, Mikey. It's just the natural order of things."

Mike groaned louder. "Why did my dad have to tell you all of that?"

"He's your dad. If he's not embarrassing you, he's doing it wrong," she quipped. "I'm willing to bet you still do stuff like that anyways."

Mike felt his cheeks grow hot again and turned away, determined not to say anything. He quickly searched for a subject.

"U-Um, have you heard the uh, news?" he asked quickly. "Th-They caught those guys that broke in a few days ago."

"Totally not suspicious change of subject," remarked Bonnie. "But still, that's cool. I'm not that surprised, considering they couldn't even break in here without someone opening the door for them."

"What happened, Mike?" asked Chica. "What did they do?"

Mike told them what he'd learned in the paper. As soon as he mentioned the warehouse and the animatronics housed there, both Chica and Bonnie exchanged apprehensive looks. Mike could see why. Freddy's expression seemed to sober on hearing that detail.

"Is that it then?" he asked in a tone that betrayed sadness. "There wasn't anythin' else they did there?"

"Um, no. Th-That's all the report detailed," said Mike. "S-Sorry…"

Freddy said nothing. He muttered a brief excuse and strode off to backstage, shutting the door with barely a look at them. Bonnie gave another look to Chica, who shook her head sadly. Mike was surprised, to say the least. Why had Freddy reacted in such a way to that news?

"Thought something like that might happen," said Bonnie. "So, Mikey, that surprise?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," Mike said, having briefly forgotten due to Freddy's reaction. "I'll uh, need a hand. It's in some heavy boxes out front."

"I can do that," offered Chica at once. "Bonnie, why don't you go and check on Foxy? He might want to see what Mike has in store."

"Don't get your hopes up," she replied. "But I guess it can't hurt. Maybe I'll drag him out or something if I can't talk some sense into him."

Chica followed Mike to the front desk. As soon as they were out of sight, she pulled him aside and spoke in a low voice.

"Don't worry about Freddy," she told him. "He needs some time to calm down. But it's something personal with him."

"Why? What is it?" he asked.

Chica bit her lip and shifted her eyes away, mentally debating whether or not to tell him. When she did, it was nearly reluctant.

"It's not just the animatronics stored there," she whispered. "Do you… remember when I told you about Goldie? I-It was where she was stored after she was… deactivated."

Mike did recall the last time she had spoken about Goldie, but she'd omitted this detail.

"Are you okay telling me this? I mean, last time you said it was difficult to talk about," he recalled.

"I… mostly," she said. "I-I'm not sure if I can tell you exactly what happened, i-if it's m-my place to, I mean."

"I think I get it. Freddy was close to her, wasn't he?" he asked.

"He was. W-We all were, but to him, sh-she was like a sister." She paused. "What happened to her was hard. For Freddy especially."

Mike nodded in understanding. He could imagine that, to Freddy, the ex-guards had essentially desecrated her resting place, like someone had dug up her grave and danced on the body. Anyone would be angry about that. He asked Chica if he'd be okay and she gave him a reassuring smile.

"He will be, we just need to give him his space. Thank you for understanding, Mike," she said sincerely.

"It's fine. I'd be a complete jerk if I wasn't, right?" he chuckled.

"I wouldn't call a lack of understanding cruel and you are far from cruel, Mike." She shuffled on her feet. "There's um… something else I've been meaning to s-say as well."

Mike could feel his heart starting to beat a little faster. She wasn't looking directly at him anymore. Her cheeks were tinted blue, she turned away from him and she was fiddling with her dress like she usually did when she got nervous. It was kind of cute.

He blinked and faintly shook his head. Where did that come from? Why did he always end up like this around Chica? Did he even want to? He got caught up in his own thoughts, so he missed what she said to him in a quiet murmur.

"I-I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked. "N-Not that I wasn't listening at all, I just uh… well, I wasn't. I-I didn't mean to, it just um… well uh…"

"It's fine," she muttered. "W-What I said was that I… j-just um… th-thank you for w-what you did when they broke in."

"Oh." Mike rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. "It's nothing. Y-You guys did most of the work."

"But it was thanks to you we could to begin with." She gave him an admiring smile. "I-It was very b-b-brave."

Mike felt a glimmer of pride. "Y-You think so?"

"Mmmhmm," she nodded. "Your father must be very proud of you… l-like I am." She glanced up at him and turned her body towards his again. "Th-There's um… something else I w-want to say t-too."

Mike wanted to ask what it was, but he couldn't find his voice. They were close. Just like when they had been at Christmas. Standing under that archway with the mistletoe dangling above their heads. Mike took a chance to glance at her lips, gazing into her violet eyes.

It almost seemed like it would be easy to just lean in again, like he had then…

The memory of that suddenly snapped Mike as to where he was and what he was doing.

"Chica, w-wait. I uh, I don't think-"

"Hey, what's taking you two so long?!"

Bonnie's voice from the dining room made them jump apart. Mike managed to get control of his breathing though his face felt like it was on fire. A glance at Chica showed him that her face was as blue as the sky on a clear day before she turned away again. Just how close had him and Chica gotten there?

"Um… uh…" Chica's voice was barely above a whisper. "M-Mike I… I…"

"It's o-okay," Mike said quickly. "We should uh, probably get these boxes through."

"Um, yes. Y-Yes, of course." Mike wasn't completely sure but she sounded almost disappointed. "W-Which one was it?"

"Uh, here. I need a hand carrying this one." He went to pull it out at the same time Chica did and felt the touch of her synthetic skin on his hand for a moment before he jerked it away. "S-sorry!"

"Oh my!" She pulled hers away too. "Um… why don't you uh…?"

"Sure." He took one side of the pair of boxes while she tentatively lifted from the other side. "W-Well you seem stronger than me."

"It's how I was made," she murmured. Was Mike hearing things or did she sound almost… sad saying that?

He sighed mentally. One of these days, Mike thought, he was going to have to have a long, hard think about these feelings he had around Chica. Part of him seemed to enjoy them but mostly… he just didn't know. But he would think about it. Just not right now.

They found Bonnie standing by Pirate Cove with Foxy peering out of the curtains. The former smirked on their arrival.

"You two took your time," noted Bonnie. "You have any trouble?"

"Nothing happened!" Mike said without really thinking.

"When did I ask if anything happened? I only asked if you needed help," she reminded him.

"Shut up," mumbled Mike.

"Okay fine, Mr Sensitivity," she sniggered. "What's in the boxes then? Did your dad send you all your old comic books, you little dork?"

"N-Nothing like that."

"Oh. So, all your adult magazines then, ya perv? Okay, okay," she said in response to the looks she was getting. "Show us whatcha got then."

"W-Well, you're not getting a first go, for one thing," Mike said at once.

"Firs' go at wha'?" asked Foxy. "Look, lad, wha'ever it is ya got, I don' really feel like it tanigh'."

"Oh really? Chica, a hand please." Mike opened the heaviest box, pulling out its contents and setting them on the stage. "Allow me to present, from my very own bedroom back home, my Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Complete with two officially licenced Nintendo controllers, a Super Scope gun controller and a wide variety of game cartridges including Mortal Kombat I and II, Super Bomberman, Super Double Dragon and Super Mario Kart."

A moment of silence lingered in the wake of his announcement. It was broken with a cough from Bonnie which sounded a lot like 'dork'.

"That's quite a lot of supers. Not that that's a bad thing," added Chica. "I'm sorry, just so I understand fully, but does this play video games, Mike?"

"It does," confirmed Mike. "My dad sent it from home. I guess maybe he remembered about how you guys used to have arcade cabinets and had this delivered for us all."

"That's very thoughtful of him," said Chica. "It's been a while since we've been able to play anything like that."

"Hey, I don't suppose I could play sooner if I said I was sorry?" asked Bonnie.

"Um, I don't think so," replied Mike.

"How about if I said I was _really_ sorry?"

"You can wait," said Mike firmly. "Foxy deserves the first turn."

Foxy still looked surprised at the existence of such a thing. "Firs' 3D games, now yer tellin' me ye can play video games at home? We sure miss a lot, cooped up in here."

"Even more if you lock yourself away behind those curtains." Mike sighed. "Why are you doing this to yourself again, Foxy?"

"It's not obvious, lad?" he snapped. "Didn't ye hear tha' Daniel fella say when he broke in here? It was my fault! All because I… that was why he did it! An' I almost did it again!"

"Yeah, keyword being 'almost'," remarked Bonnie. "But you didn't."

"This ain't a joke, Bon!" he shouted. "I've seen first-hand now wha' my mistake has done! Yer mum an' that lot that broke in here proved tha'! This wha' I deserve…"

"Foxy, please, don't talk like that," begged Chica.

"She's right," said Mike. "I understand why you're feeling like this, but you have to move past it."

"How can ye say that when I nearly let ye down?" asked Foxy. A new note of misery crept into his voice. "Ye were the one who forgave me and I practically took it an' threw it overboard with wha' I almost did…"

"But you didn't, Foxy. And who says I've retracted my forgiveness? But one of these days…" Mike shook his head while he searched for the right words. "You're… you're going to have to forgive yourself too."

"Yeah, of course there were going to be some people who weren't happy with what you did and still won't be," added Bonnie. "But if they end up pulling stuff like that, they're not much better. You gotta try and put it behind you now. It was a mistake. A pretty horrible one for sure, but one you're it's not like you want to repeat it."

"Not only that, but you were actually trying to protect me," pointed out Mike. "I never said thanks for that but consider this my way of doing it." He picked out Double Dragon and held it up. "Come on, captain. Don't leave me to fight this battle alone."

"Ye sure abou' tha' lad?" Foxy looked ashamed. "Would ye be wantin' ta play with a monster like me?"

"Foxy, don't let what my mom said get to you," urged Mike. "You're not a monster to me. You're my friend. More importantly, you're my captain and I'm your first mate. Don't tell me you're going to just abandon ship now."

He held out a controller for him. Foxy looked at it for a while from his Cove, then at Mike. He shook his head and smiled reluctantly.

"Sometimes, I think it should be the other way around," he remarked. "Alrigh' Mike, yer on. Let's see how this new-fangled thing works."

Mike smiled too and went to find a socket to plug the TV in near the stage. Whilst he searched around, his eyes lingered on the backstage door. He hoped Freddy was okay back there. Maybe they could coax him out later, see if he fancied some Mario Kart.

He couldn't help but wonder what happened all those years ago? Who was Goldie to him and to all of them? He knew it was a sensitive topic and they would tell him when they were ready, or rather when Freddy was. But he wanted to know, to see if he could help them in some way. He couldn't imagine doing what his dad had done to get Freddy to come out. He wasn't brave or suicidal enough. He just hoped Chica was right.

Mike put aside those thoughts for now. At this moment, it was time to reintroduce his friends to the world of gaming. He found a socket, plugged it in and eagerly ran back to join them. This was going to be fun.

* * *

Okay, just a heads up while it seems like these are quick updates, that's because four chapters, including the two already up, were prewritten. The rest still needs to come so there may be gaps in updates larger than others but don't worry. I am working on them. Please don't send me messages about when the next chapter will be.

Janepiratefox: Well here's some more for you :)

Child at Heart Forever: I hope I don't disappoint.

MajorVidGamer: G.O.L. - Genetic Operations Logistics Diagnostic ENgager. Yes, I pulled a GLaDOS there XD

Lord Zalgo: Thank you, my lord. May this offering please thee.

DnWolfy: They are indeed.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: Nice to meet you, Ben. I'm glad you've been enjoying my work thus far. I won't stop you from supporting either of those ships. Just don't be disappointed if things don't work out as you might think ;) It would be nice to have another regular reviewer. I look forward to hearing from you in future installments.

KingStonecold: Well done, sir. Not exactly subtle of course, but I do enjoy my references.

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	3. Bump in the Night

**Bump in the Night**

He went over so many scenarios in his head. He voiced aloud so many different ways to say what he wanted to say. Now, he was on his way to Freddy's for his shift tonight and he still had absolutely no idea how he was going to handle this.

Mike sighed. He really wasn't looking forward to tonight.

Not to say last night was anything bad. It was a lot of fun playing video games with everybody and even better when Freddy eventually re-joined them. He resigned himself to just watching and he was still fairly quiet, but Mike felt better knowing he could actually see him.

Foxy's spirits had been lifted too. It was rather odd to imagine a pirate as an avid gamer, but Mike didn't object to it. He proved himself a fast learner when it came to the controls and really gave Mike a run for his money on some of his old favourites. As did Bonnie, much to Mike's chagrin and her amusement.

His real concern was Chica. Following the interruption they'd received, she was far from relaxed the rest of night. Mike would glance to see her fiddling with her dress, swiftly turning her head away whenever he looked at her. Any address made to her by him was met with a small squeak and timid reply. She did play a few games, but her mind clearly wasn't on those.

Mike had a feeling he knew what and what she might have said to him. He'd seen it in so many movies and shows, when someone shy pulled someone else aside to talk to them alone. Maybe it was a cliché, but he had a feeling…

They hadn't talked about what happened at Christmas since the event in question and Mike thought they'd moved past it. Yet he kept returning to it and seeing her in a… different kind of light. Was it ludicrous to believe it was the same for her?

He shook his head furiously. He didn't even know if that was what he really wanted. He wasn't sure if he actually did. The last time he'd gotten close to someone like that…

He pushed those thoughts away as Freddy's loomed overhead. He stood at the entrance and prayed silently that everything would be okay between them tonight and he wouldn't have to talk to her about anything that happened at Christmas. He quickly locked all of the doors and kept his head down the whole time, trying not to look at the synthetics on stage. One in particular.

After trying to calm himself down as much as possible, he entered the dining area.

"Hey guys, what's…?" Mike trailed off when he realised they hadn't moved from their spots. "Guys? Hello?"

They didn't even respond to him. They just stood motionless on the stage and curiously, they were still wearing the suits they used to perform during the day. He waved a hand in front of Freddy's face. Nothing. He snapped his fingers near Chica. No reaction. But then if Chica and Freddy were here, then where was Bonnie? Was Foxy gone too?

Mike moved toward Pirate's Cove. He opened the curtains and shone his torch inside, but found Foxy slumped next to his pirate ship, again not moving like the others and also dressed in his suit. It didn't seem like he was in a depressed state. He just wasn't moving.

Something clamped on his shoulder and he made a high-pitched squeal, whirling around wildly. Only to feel his face grow hot while Bonnie laughed at his expense. Most of her body, except her head, was covered by her suit.

"You're just too much fun to make scream, Mikey!" she guffawed.

"You jumped out at me!" he protested, his voice still high.

"Like a little girl!"

"You just grabbed my shoulder in the dark!"

"I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt."

Mike groaned. "Can you just tell me what's going on here? Please?"

"I thought we established that," she smirked.

"I mean beyond what just happened," he muttered. "Why are the others not moving?"

"Oh yeah, that. We were gonna tell you last night, but then we all got distracted by the game console. That was pretty cool, by the way," she added. "I even got to see a little of your competitive side."

Mike's face grew warm. "I don't know what you mean…"

"Aw come on. You were trying to hide it, but it was easy to tell how ticked you were every time you got beaten on any of the multiplayer stuff. Especially by me," she smirked.

"I-I was fine with it," insisted Mike.

"That's not what the little scowl and your barely controlled voice told me," she teased. "How many times did you lose on Bomberman because you cornered yourself with your own bombs?"

"It's easy to forget sometimes!" Mike snapped.

"You didn't seem so ticked whenever Chica beat you though," she went on. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were letting her win. But why on earth would you ever do that?"

"Bonnie!" he protested.

"Ooh, touchy," she winked. "Okay, back to the point. Sorry to say this, but you're gonna have a few nights on your own, Mikey."

"What? Why is that?" he asked.

"You're looking at it." She walked over to Foxy and slapped the back of his head. He didn't move. "Not that I wouldn't do that anyway, but it's somehow more fun when he doesn't know."

"But what is it that's happened? It's like they're all in a kind of deep sleep," he remarked.

"That's pretty much it," she affirmed, knocking against Foxy's head again. "Every three months, we shut ourselves down for three nights in a row and have ourselves a little recharging period to get our energy back. In case you didn't notice, we work pretty much twenty four seven, so we need to get a proper rest. We're on during the day to work but we have less shows and we spend all night catching some much needed Zs."

"So… I'll be on my own for three nights?" clarified Mike.

"Pretty much. I know it's gonna be tough coping without us for that long, but you're a big boy. I'm sure you can find some way to get by. And you better not try anything while we're out, you perv," she added.

He only nodded absently to her remark as she sniggered. Mike felt a little relieved. His prayer had been answered. This would give him an extra chance to actually get himself together for when they woke up. Or rather when Chica did. If he could ever actually manage to do that. Would he even need to? Could they just forget about it?

"Hey, Mikey? You okay?" Bonnie looked at him curiously. "I know it's gonna be three sucky nights without us around, but we're gonna be awake again by the end of it."

"Y-Yeah, I know. It's uh… nothing," he dismissed. He nodded to Foxy. "Um, how's he doing?"

"Well, he was the first to actually power down so make of that what you will." She looked at him with a fond expression. "I think he's doing better though. He at least spoke a few words to us before he did go to sleep. Most of that was you, you know."

"Me? W-What did I do?" asked Mike, unsure.

"Dude, don't act like you don't know," she said, shaking her head in amused exasperation. "What you think of him means a lot to him. It's thanks to you he's even performing again. What you said to him last night, it might not seem like it did but believe me, it helped. Before he went to sleep, he told me to tell you he says thanks and that he was proud to be able to protect his first mate. And that he wants a rematch at Street Fighter," she added.

Mike gazed at Foxy's prone form. He remembered how pained he'd sounded last night when he talked about letting Mike down. The idea that how Mike viewed him really mattered that much… he'd never had that before. He could feel his eyes beginning to water. He suddenly wished he was awake right now, so he could tell him how much that meant to him.

It didn't escape Bonnie's notice. "Hey, come on. Don't start getting all sappy with me, I can't deal with that, not even when the kids start crying. That's more Chica's thing than mine."

"S-Sorry." Mike wiped away at his eyes. "Just… thanks for telling me that, Bonnie. I-I'll be sure to let Foxy know when he w-wakes up."

"Don't sweat it." Her smirk returned. "You know, speaking of Chica, she seemed rather reluctant to go into power down tonight."

"I-Is that so?" Mike tried to sound casual, but even he could hear the wavering note in his voice.

"Yeah," she nodded, the smirk widening. "I think she wanted to be the one to tell you about what was happening with us, like she was the one who wanted to be alone with you. Now, I wonder why that might be. Don't you, Mikey?"

"I-I-I-I d-d-don't kn-know," he stammered. "There's uh, um, i-i-i-it's n-not…"

"Not what? Is there something you're not-?"

"It's not like that!" he snapped abruptly. "I-It's not, it really isn't!"

"Not like what?" asked Bonnie. "Mikey, what's-?"

"Nothing, it's nothing!" he insisted loudly. "J-Just get off my back about it!"

"Okay, okay," she said, raising her hands. "Jeez, no need to get all defensive on me. Look, I'm not saying that there is something-"

"There isn't!" he said quickly.

"Yeah, I got that," she remarked, her ears recoiling from the volume. "But if there really isn't, make sure she knows that, yeah? She's already been hurt once."

"Sh-She has?" Mike cocked his head. "What do you mean? By who?"

"Not my place to say. Just be careful with her, 'kay? I don't want to see her like that again." Bonnie sighed, looking morose for a moment. "Well, I'd better be getting some shuteye. If you have any tearful words of farewell, try not to make it too unbearable."

She placed on her mask and started toward the stage. While Mike didn't really have anything to say along the lines she jokingly suggested, what she said before and the way she said it felt like this was prompted.

"I-I like this side of you." She paused, looking back with a raised eye. "I-I mean um… I know how you usually are b-but… you stick up for people, Bonnie. For your friends. You look out for them, even though you a-act all… you know. I-I've never had a friend like that and… I d-don't think I could do it. So um, yeah. I like that."

A feeling of awkwardness settled in. Mike wasn't really sure how she felt about that, since her mask was covering her face. She looked at him for a while, past him to Pirate Cove. She turned and walked to the stage again and Mike started to feel a bit silly saying that. Until she paused again, her head only moving a fraction in his direction.

"Thanks." She turned her head a little more and with none of her usual cockiness said, "See you in three nights, Mike."

With that, she stepped onto the stage and picked up her guitar. Her eyes flickered to him for a brief moment until she stopped moving completely. Her gaze was fixed straight ahead like the others, making Mike think for a moment they really were just lifeless machines.

He approached the stage and looked up at his friends. It was so strange, seeing them like this. It was going to be a lonely three nights but-

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Mike nearly jumped out of skin when Bonnie was suddenly in his face and screeching like a banshee. He reeled backwards onto the floor as her screech became mirthful laughter. Mike glared at her from the floor while she merely winked and returned to her deadeye stare.

"I should have known that you wouldn't let it end on a note like that," he muttered, then a little louder. "You just had to get one last one in, didn't you?"

There was no reply. Very cautiously, he approached her. He waved a hand in front of her face. No reaction. He started to walk away, then quickly whirled around. She hadn't moved. His hands shaking, he reached out and grabbed her guitar. Not even a twitch.

He let out a sigh of relief. That had to mean she was really asleep or whatever you wanted to say to describe their state. But once he'd calmed down in assurance of no more jump scares, the fact he was effectively on his own began to set in.

He took a seat and stared up at them on stage. He wondered what it must be like for them while they were recharging. Their bodies might be shut down, but were their minds? Was it like humans when they went to sleep? Did they have dreams? It was so easy to forget that they weren't human and even when he was reminded that they weren't, it never bothered Mike that much.

Except for, again, one in particular. He fixed his gaze on her, motionless alongside her bandmates while holding on to her signature cupcake. Part of him wanted to approach her and remove her mask. But he knew it was best to leave her as she was. Still, maybe he could try and practice what he wanted to say.

He cleared his throat and walked up to her. "Um. Hey, uh, Chica. H-How are you?" She didn't reply, but he behaved as if she did. "Fine? Oh good. Me? Uh, fine I guess. We're both fine, h-how about that." Mike sighed. Even when just talking to himself, he was awkward. "L-Look, um… I-I wanted to talk to you. I-It's kind of important. B-But we don't have to do it now, I c-could come back later. Must be busy, in the kitchen with those p-pizzas. Uh…"

Mike paused and looked at her closely. He could have sworn she just moved. But it was just his imagination. She wasn't moving, none of them were. Loneliness getting to him already.

"A-Anyway um… w-what I wanted to say was uh… you see, um… w-what happened at Christmas wh-wh-when we… well, you know. It wasn't… i-it didn't mean a-anything. W-What I mean is, uh th-that it wasn't special. I-I mean it w-was b-but it wasn't. I don't f-feel it was. I-It wasn't i-it felt bad o-or I feel bad. I feel... I don't… I mean…" He sighed and covered his face. "I don't know. I don't even know. I'm sorry. I-It's just a stupid tradition. I never even wanted to… you know. If I'd known it was there, I-I would've… I d-didn't want… a-and ever since, I keep feeling… I feel… I-I don't know. I-I'm sorry…"

He pulled his head from his hands. She hadn't moved at all. Not that he expected her to. But saying all of that and having no response wasn't exactly encouraging. But how could he expect one when she was like this?

"I wish it never happened," he murmured and stood up. He made his way to the security office. Being here with them when they were like this wasn't really helping anything.

He slumped in his chair and wondered about what he should do. Not just about his personal feelings, but also how to get through the remaining hours without driving himself up the wall. The TV and his SNES were stored away, maybe he could pull that out later. If it didn't feel weird not playing games with the band for the night.

He pulled out his phone, intending to play a few of the games on it. Then he had an idea. Perhaps he could call his dad. Talking to him would help kill some time and maybe he could ask for advice about his little… situation. Perhaps it was rather late, but he felt like he had to try.

Mike pulled up his parent's contact details and dialled it in. He heard the dial tone. He didn't expect anyone to actually pick up considering how late it was, which is why he was surprised when only after two rings it stopped.

"Hey dad, I just wanted-"

" _The number you've reached is currently unavailable,"_ said the monotone voice of the dial operator. _"Please hang up and do not call again or you will be the one who is hung up, you sad little man."_

Mike felt a chill down his spine as the call disconnected. He pulled his phone away from his ear and stared at it. What in the world was that about? He carefully set it down on the table, not really trusting enough to put it back in his pocket.

He jumped when he heard the office phone ring. He reached for it, but remembered the sinister message he received before. Would this be something like that? It seemed strange that someone would be calling him this late. Who would even want to speak to the night guard of a kid's restaurant?

The phone continued to ring incessantly. Perhaps he was just being paranoid and this was actually important. Maybe it was Mr Johnson calling in to check on him. Despite his better judgement begging him not to do it, Mike picked up the phone and held it cautiously to his ear.

"H-Hello?"

The response wasn't a human voice. He wasn't even sure what it was. Some kind of weird electronic warbling. At first, he thought it was some kind of interference. But the more he listened to it, the more it began to sound like… speech. Distorted, backwards speech, almost demonic.

Mike continued to listen, flinching at the sound of small screeches mingled with the warbling. Then abruptly, it stopped. He listened a little longer. Nothing. Suddenly feeling cold, Mike carefully set the receiver down.

This was starting to feel like his first night all over again. He thought wildly that it was Bonnie again, that she'd somehow elaborately set all of this up. He couldn't think what else it could be, but he tried to not let it get to him. It was just that the place was so quiet that this was getting to him.

He headed backstage to fix that. He almost expected Freddy to be here, sat thinking in the dark. But the room wasn't empty. He didn't dwell on it, pulling out his CD player. He hoped Bonnie wouldn't mind him playing her mix CD which was still in the drive.

As Pointer's Sister's I'm So Excited started playing, Mike started to feel a little better. At the very least, there was no oppressive silence anymore. He took a seat and listened to the beat, bobbing his head to the rhythm. He tried snapping his fingers, but the tips were covered with sweat. Had he really been that nervous from those phone calls?

In the end, he couldn't resist getting up and dancing a little and attempting to sing along to the chorus. In the back of his mind, he could hear Bonnie making fun of his dancing. He could almost picture Chica coming over and mimicking his style, or lack thereof, so he wouldn't look as bad. It made Bonnie laugh harder, but she didn't seem to mind. All of them dancing, Freddy with his smooth moves and Foxy with his pirate jig…

He was brought out of his little fantasy when he heard the music start to stutter. It sounded like it was fading in and out, obscured by little bursts of what seemed like static. Mike walked over to examine it. Was the disk scratched? It didn't seem like Bonnie would even think of letting that happen. Had she tried to somehow put more songs on it?

But as he neared the player, he could make out something. Every time the music faded out or was disrupted, something else replaced it. He could make out brief sounds of some kind of techno music and a different voice singing from the Pointer Sisters. A more sinister sounding voice. With a different song.

 _We shouldn't even_ -with the new guy  
 _Sweet memories_ -new gig- _long, long time_ -if you dig  
Ain't goin' home- _a good time baby don't_ -go big  
 _And if we still_ \- cam 2B-  
Little surprise- _just fine_

IT'S ME

That last part was spoken in a loud whisper, like it had been said right in Mike's ear. Mike shut the music off there, yanking the plug out of the wall and backing away from the offending device. The returning silence did nothing to calm his mounting panic. First his mobile, then the office phone, now this? What was going on tonight?!

"How are you doing this?!" he cried to Bonnie. "How did you even set all of this up?! How did you know I'd be doing all of this?!" No reply. No movement. "Bonnie, talk to me, please! Freddy! Foxy! Chica! What is all of this?!"

Only the cruel quiet answered him. Trying desperately to control his breathing, Mike tried to make sense of what was happening. But nothing seemed to make any sense. The best thing he could come up with and that really wasn't saying much, was that this was some kind of… haunting. Like a ghost was tormenting him.

But that couldn't be it. That was stupid. That was what he told himself. But he'd seen things like this in various horror movies as tired old clichés that could still make him feel nervous. Disruption of electronics. Strange messages. Alone in an old building. Now, they were happening to him. All that was missing now was for the chairs to start floating in the air and a girl with long greasy black hair to appear and take his soul to hell.

He nearly screamed when a new sound filled the air. What sounded like carnival music, like what you might hear on a carousel. It was coming from backstage.

Mike gulped. He could feel every limb shaking. His hands trembled as they went for his torch and taser. He really, really didn't want to look back there. He didn't want to see what he might find. But this was his job. Even if he didn't do stuff like this very often.

He carefully approached the door, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. Just a quick check, he told himself. Just stick your head in, see what it is and lock the door if you don't like it. Zap it if you really don't like it.

He gripped the handle tightly. He drew in a few deep breaths, unclipped his taser and placed his thumb above the button. He yanked down the handle, pulled open the door and rushed into the room.

There was nothing. Nothing but the heads rested on the shelves and Arnie the Endoskeleton sat on the table. But Mike didn't relax because he found the source of the music. It was coming out of Arnie, playing eerily around the room.

"What…?" Mike stared at the endoskeleton. "What is this?"

Abruptly, the music stopped. Silence blanketed the room. Mike drank it all in and lowered his taser a fraction. He dared to believe it was over.

Until, in a sense of extreme déjà vu, the head turned to look at him. It stared at him and Mike stared back. His mind screamed at him to run, but his body wouldn't respond. The eyes were shining yellow in the dark and its mouth moved awkwardly to form two words.

"It's me."

Now, he ran. He sprinted out full pelt, straight for the security room. He didn't look back to see if it was following him. He just had to get away. His fist hit the security door button and the metal door slammed shut behind him. He did the same for the other side and pulled up the camera monitor. He pulled up the backstage room.

Arnie was there. He was staring up at the camera. So were the empty heads. Every single one of them was now facing the direction of the camera. Soulless eyes and blank sockets all staring right at him.

He jumped when the monitor suddenly changed view on its own. It was looking down the east hall. Mike barely fought back a scream when he saw the posters that lined the wall. Instead of the faces of the band, they'd changed.

Pale, round faces. Small, beady eyes shrunken in their sockets. Rivers of tears streaming down their deathly white cheeks. Expressions of terror on their painted features.

It changed again. It showed the band onstage. But they'd moved. Their heads were turned to look at the camera. But there was nothing friendly about their expressions. The way they were looking at him, Mike felt like a weak animal being eyed by hungry predators.

His grip on the screen tightened when that demonic warbling from before sounded through the audio feedback. The monitor flashed with images of Freddy staring with bloodshot eyes. Of Bonnie's head, eyeless and dead. Chica, with sharp teeth in her beak. Foxy with blood dripping from his jaws.

Those same two words over and over again. It's me. It's me. It's me. IT'S ME.

One more time the monitor changed. It showed camera 2B, just outside his office on the west side. The poster of Freddy was there, tipping his hat. A flicker of static and it changed. He was pulling off half of his head. Another flicker of static. His face filled the whole poster, but his fur was now a decaying yellow colour.

Then, that same face filled his whole screen. He gazed back into empty, eyeless pits black as the abyss. Giggling, like a girl's, echoed from the feedback. Mocking him, taunting him. Like it was in the office with him.

Mike slammed down the monitor. He opened the left door and ran out of the office, his hand going for the keys on his belt. He fumbled for a moment, trying to find the back door. He whipped his head up, but ducked it back down. If something was coming for him, he wasn't going to stick around.

He found the right one, turned it in the lock and burst out into the cool night air. He doubled over, feeling like he was going to throw up and tasting bile in the back of his throat. He kept it down and tried his best to control his ragged breathing.

He looked back at the door he just ran out of. Nothing had followed him and he couldn't hear anything from out here. But he hoped these three nights would blow by quickly. His friends were never going to believe this.

But Mike had an odd feeling that they just might. And it wasn't comforting.

* * *

There you go, the proper chapter and I have a better plan in mind for what's coming. It's going to be fun...

Nameless Destruction: Please don't die before you finish reading XD

Ashwood's Flame: Very insightful and detailed, thank you.

Idondoshit: Now, now I can't just give out details like that.

Guest: Glad you've been looking forward to it and don't worry, I will.

Billio: I don't know. Is it?

i am lazy: There's no need for fuss, just a news report.

MajorVidGamer: Thanks dude and yes you did get the name right.

Fnafspringtrap: Go away, you're not in the story yet.

MLPLoverForerver: There's always something XD

Candy: Who are you to dictate his interests?

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	4. In Their Shadow

**In Their Shadow**

 _Bonnie stood in the dark underneath the stage. She could feel her circulatory regulator pounding against her chest. Outside, the crowds were baying loudly despite how muffled it was. She flexed her fingers in anticipation. If she could sweat, you could guarantee that she'd be soaked in it. She couldn't tell if this was nervousness or excitement or some weird blend of the two._

 _All that she knew as that she was pumped for this. She had been waiting for this. A chance to really show what she was made of. Years of sheer practice from hiding away and all of her wild hopes and dreams had finally led up to this day. She knew and the others knew it too, as they all came up to wish her luck before taking their positions._

" _Bonnie, I must thank you again for acceptin' this momentous responsibility," said Freddy proudly._

" _Eh, don't sweat it boss," she said._

" _I think I should be the one callin' you that tonight," he noted, patting her on the shoulder. "We'll be sure to do our best out there."_

" _Aye, we'll be doin' grand with ye at the helm tonight!" roared Foxy heartily, clapping a hand in both of his. "This'll be a moment in history!"_

" _Only with you helping make it, peg leg." She pulled him in a hug and clapped him on the back. "You be sure to have my back up there."_

" _Always, long ears," he vowed. "Let's get this voyage underway!"_

" _Oh my goodness," murmured Chica nervously. "I can't believe this is happening. I-I don't know about this. I-I-I don't th-think I can-"_

" _Hey, Cheeks, relax," said Bonnie at once. "You've got me here. No need to be nervous."_

" _Right, of course," she said, calming down almost immediately. "Thank you, Bonnie. I uh, needed to hear that."_

" _It's what I do," she shrugged._

 _The three of them went off to take their places and their backstage manager approached her, making the final checks._

" _You ready there, Bonnie?" Mike asked, wearing headset mic and carrying a clipboard._

 _She ran her hand down the length of her guitar neck. She looked back at him and flashed him her cockiest grin._

" _I was made ready," she answered._

" _You nervous?" he added._

" _Mikey, please," she remarked._

" _Yeah, I forgot who I was talking to, sorry. Still, you're going to be great," said Mike earnestly. "You've been preparing for this for years."_

" _You know I have and they're all gonna know it," she said confidently._

" _You can do this," he assured her. "They're going to love you."_

" _Yeah, I know. Still pretty good to hear it though." She took a deep breath and bounded on her feet. "Okay, let's go."_

 _Mike reached for the switch. "You sure?" She only raised an eyebrow in response. "Right, sorry. Knock 'em dead."_

" _Hell yeah!" she replied. "Let's do this!"_

 _Mike gave her a thumbs up and pressed the switch. Bonnie felt a slight juddering and the platform she was stood on beginning to rise. She looked up to see the trapdoor opening above her. The roaring of the crowd was only getting louder with every passing second. She screwed her eyes shut when the ascent ended and the stage lights nearly blinded her._

 _But when the bloom faded, Bonnie could finally see. A glance behind her told her that her bandmates had risen with her. Freddy was on bass, Chica on a keyboard and Foxy on the drums. After so many years, their names had finally become households beyond a children's pizzeria. Now, here they were. At their first concert._

 _And even better, Bonnie was the lead guitarist and the lead vocalist. She'd needed some time to think about the offer when it was presented to her. For about a second, if that. Time to show them why. She strode up to the microphone and yanked it from its stand._

" _WHAT'S UP, GOOD PEOPLE!" she hollered. The response was deafening. And she loved it. "Are you ready to rock?!" She grinned as they roared their demand. "Even with these ears, I can barely hear that! I said ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!" She almost staggered from the force of the crowd. "ALRIGHT THEN! ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"_

 _The sound was heavenly. Freddy strumming on his bass. Foxy beating out a rhythm. Chica playing out a synthetic melody. But none of them compared to Bonnie. She was in her element, her fingers scuttling across the strings like nervous crabs while she gazed out at the audience and belted out the lyrics to her rock ballad._

 _The lights were practically blinding, but she didn't care. The noise was borderline ear-splitting, but she was loving it. The crowd was only growing more and more frantic. They were chanting their names. No, chanting_ her _name. At long last, the recognition she so deserved was being given to her. It had been many years in the making, but it was finally paying off._

 _Then, she heard a laugh. A mocking, derisive laugh that even above the din could be clearly heard. She whirled around, looking for the source._

" _Who's that?" she demanded. "Who's back there?"_

 _There was no reply. There was only silence. Wait, silence? But they were playing, they were great. The crowd was eating them up. That was when she noticed that her bandmates had vanished._

" _Guys? Where are you?" She jogged around the stage, casting her eyes about. "Cheeks? Foxy, is this you? Boss, where'd you go?" She tapped into her stage mic. "Mike, where is everyone? Mikey? You there?" No reply from him either._

 _But they weren't the only ones missing. When she turned back around to face the crowd, the arena was completely deserted. Bonnie blinked and shook her head. How was that possible? Thousands of people, just up and vanished?_

" _What is this?" she murmured. "What's going on?"_

 _That laugh returned again. It echoed even louder this time, openly mocking her. She clenched her fists and tried to determine where it was coming from._

" _Who in the hell is that?" she called out. "Come out! Where are you hiding?!"_

 _The laughter only intensified and it made Bonnie's face burn red. But this time, there was also a response._

" _Why, I'm right here. Always kept away where you don't want anyone else to see. Not even you," a very familiar voice said accusingly._

" _What the hell are you playing at?" she growled. "Get out here, now!"_

" _My, my. Are you always so aggressive?" asked the voice. "But then again, I suppose I would know."_

 _Bonnie became aware of something moving off stage. She tensed, ready to face it. But she froze when she saw a familiar, bulky frame stomp out of the shadows and fix her with a malicious stare._

" _Recognise me now?" asked her suit in a warped version of her voice. "Come on, it's not too difficult."_

" _What are you doing here? How are you moving around?" She leaped on an idea. "You're the reason my friends are gone! What did you do to them?!"_

 _It laughed again. "Only what you would have eventually done."_

" _Quit playing games with me!" she snapped. "Tell me where they are!"_

" _Oh goodness, I'm trembling. Such ferocity, such steadfast loyalty!" it mocked. "Come on. You and I both know that's just an act."_

" _Shut up! It's no act!" she retorted, though she felt a twinge in her gut. "I'm only asking this one more time: Where are my friends?!"_

" _Sheesh, calm down there. If anything, you should be thanking me since you and I both know how you really feel about them," it said, its grin growing._

" _What's that supposed to mean?!" she shouted, though that twinge was growing stronger._

" _Isn't it obvious? You resent them," it told her bluntly. "I didn't think I'd have to spell it out for you. But then again, it's not like you'd ever admit it."_

" _What?! I don't resent them!" she insisted. "Who do you think you are, saying stuff like that?!"_

" _I'm you," it replied. "I know everything about you, even the things you don't want to admit. Like the fact that you hold resentment and jealousy for every one of your so-called friends."_

" _No! No, I don't!" she shouted. But the words were hitting her at her core._

 _Her suit seemed to realise this and pressed on. "Sure, that's what you tell yourself. But deep down, you can't deny it."_

 _Bonnie noticed the world around her getting darker. When she looked up, she saw towering versions of her friends, taller than skyscrapers and blotting out the last. Their shadows fell across her while they gazed down at her contemptuously._

" _Poor little Bonnie. You act all big and tough but really, you're so small, shouting out because no one's listening," the suit went on. "Why wouldn't you be jealous? Freddy's the leader and it's his name above the place. Chica makes amazing food and is adored by the kids. Foxy gets his own show, being a cool pirate. But look at you. What are you? Strumming away on your guitar, putting out your wisecracks and trying to make yourself noticed when no one looks at you twice."_

 _Bonnie wanted to look away, wanted to shut her ears and no longer listen. But she couldn't escape those contemptuous gazes. Couldn't drown out the words that felt like the truth though she desperately wished they weren't._

" _It's not like that!" she cried. "I do my job and I'm… I'm proud of it!"_

" _Wow that almost sounded convicted." She jumped when her suit appeared in front of her. Its gaze made the ones of her friends even worse. "But that's not enough, is it? It's never enough. You want more. You want people to know your name, to see you as important, to see your worth. But you can't. Not while you're stuck in this place, always overshadowed and left on the side-lines by those that keep you from being a bright shining star. Ha! What a joke!"_

" _Sh-Shut up!"_

" _And you love your jokes, don't you? All your teasing and pranking and everything. Anything to gain some notoriety, to get some attention and of course to get back at those you'd never, ever speak out against. And why?" The question lingered in the air for a moment. "Because they give you that value you could never have on your own."_

 _The towering visages of her friends vanished. Now, she was all alone in the empty stadium again. Alone accept for her other self still tormenting her._

" _You call them your friends, but they're not really. They're just props for your fragile, pathetic ego. But even those foundations are fragile. David proved that and Mike just keeps on at it."_

 _The whole stage suddenly shook and Bonnie was knocked off her feet. Her guitar came loose, sliding away when the stage began to tilt. She tried to make for it, but it fell off the side and into a black abyss that had replaced the audience floor. She glimpsed below to see David on one side and Mike on the other, both hammering at the supports with sledgehammers._

" _Guys, wait!" she begged. "Stop! What are you doing?!"_

" _What they've always done: chip away at those foundations." Her other self suddenly appeared next to her and pointed to each in turn. "David, coming along and shaking things up a bit. It was only after he became a new source of ego feeding for you that he didn't seem as bad. But now, it's started again with Mike. Nothing special about him, yet he accomplished more in five nights than you've ever done in nearly thirty years. And don't you just hate him for it?"_

" _SHUT UP!" she cried._

" _Freddy looks at him like a proud papa. Foxy thinks the world of him. Chica is completely gaga for him," it went on. The stage shook even more violently on Mike's side. "The guy has self-esteem and confidence fifty feet below sea level and he's still better than you because at least he's honest about how he really feels. Those foundations are looking pretty shaky right now, huh?"_

" _NO!" she screamed, as the stage became more unstable. "IT'S NOT TRUE! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"_

" _Oh, but it is. And I should know, because…" Its grin widened as its eyes locked on her. "I am you."_

 _The stage finally gave way. Bonnie tumbled into the abyss below, that mocking laughter echoing in her ears as she fell._

* * *

Who loves weird dream sequences and inner torment? I do! And that was just the first one.

Ashwood's Flame: It's cool

Lord Zalgo: To be fair, he wasn't really talking to her. She can't actually hear him in her current state. Trust me, there is a reason why he's being so awkward about this.

MajorVidGamer: Yes that is what happened.

kitkat1003: Thank you

roboticfreeze: That chapter may return at another time. Just not now.

Daland: Thanks for understanding.

Ashwood's Flame: Good XD And you won't have long to wait there.

DBlockGirl: Don't push me! XD

Candy: Even someone like Freddy isn't made of stone. He has his limits and he has his triggers.

Billio: I'll upload it and other chapters like it in a different story.

Auto-Buscus: It has. It's nice working with a smaller amount of chapters and words. That was Bonnie doing the screeching.

Nickle7654: You're welcome and remember: Cthulhu sleeps and we are his dreams.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: That was indeed our Goldie. And that will be explained next chapter.

hawk2274: It was.

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	5. Proper Greeting

**Proper Greeting**

It took Mike a good long while to muster up the courage to re-enter the restaurant. He had so many vivid images of hands reaching out from the darkness to take him away or the souls of the damned wailing in his ear that he was almost tempted to just stay outside.

When he did go back inside, very slowly and very cautiously, he was far from calm. Every scrape made him jump. Every creak made him shriek. He had to make every conceivable effort not to run straight out again and about two times, he almost did and he'd kept the back door unlocked just in case he needed to make another mad dash out.

But he had a job to do. As much as he might not want to do it.

He crept into the office and slid into his chair. He eyed the monitor warily, remembering all of those flashing images on it, that repeating message. He listened intently for the metal feat of Arnie coming down the hallway, ready to slam the security door shut at a moment's notice.

Mike was still trying to determine what exactly the cause was to all of that. It all seemed to elaborate to be some kind of malfunction with the equipment. He really wanted to say it was some prank done by Bonnie and perhaps working together with Foxy, but that didn't seem like her. Bonnie always liked to see the result of her work. She wouldn't do it while she was practically asleep. Plus, he simply couldn't understand how she would have set everything up to do that.

Again, his mind tuned to so many horror movies and video games told him that it was some kind of haunting. But that couldn't be it, he told himself. On his first night here, he thought it was haunted and all it turned out to be was a collection of androids that existed without the knowledge of everyone else who wanted to make friends.

Mike shook his head. "You know, when you put it like that… I-I guess anything's possible." He shuddered at the thought of that becoming a reality though.

So he sat there in the office, the only sound the buzzing of the light and the spinning of the fan that was doing little to cool his nerves. Not liking the feeling of being effectively blind, he eventually started to use the security monitor again. There was nothing out of the ordinary on the screens. The band were looking away from the camera. The posters had returned to normal. The empty heads in the back had returned to their original positions.

Even better, there was no sign of that weird yellow bear or that message again. But Mike was ready to slam the monitor down at the slightest hint of such a thing and make a beeline for the back door if necessary.

But after a few minutes, he gradually started to steady his nerves. Nothing was happening. Whatever it was that had caused those strange happenings had passed. Everything had returned to normal or at least as normal as he could hope it to be.

"Okay then," he breathed. "It's fine, Mike. You're okay now, everything's fine. There's no ghosts here."

"That could be somewhat open to interpretation."

Mike shrieked at the sound of a new voice and fumbled with the monitor in his hands. He practically threw it down on the desk and backed away.

"Amazing. You really _do_ scream like a little girl," the voice remarked. It seemed to be coming from the monitor.

"Who is that?! Who are you?! Why are you doing this to me?!" he cried.

"Calm down, calm down," it, or she, urged. "No need to be scared."

"N-No need?! NO NEED?!" he shouted hysterically. "Then what was a-a-all of that?! That was you, wasn't it?! W-W-What are you?!"

"I'm not going to deny, yes it was," the voice replied. "I'll be honest, I just wanted to see how you'd react. I think one of the best ways to learn about a person is to put them in a tense situation and see how well they cope under pressure." A pause. "Also, it was a tiny bit fun and considering how long I've been out of things, I needed it."

"Oh, well that's all well and fine then!" Mike pressed a palm to his forehead. "Great, just great! I hope you learned a lot!"

"Actually I did, thank you," the voice said casually. "But now that I'm finished with all of that, I thought the time has come to meet you properly, Mike Schmidt."

"H-How do you know my name?!" demanded Mike.

"Because I can read minds, Mike." A sinister tone came to the voice. "I can peel away the fabric of your subconscious and see everything inside as easily as if you were to peel an orange, with just as satisfying and sweet a reward."

Mike gulped. "R-Really?"

"No, not really," it deadpanned with a humourless laugh. "Actually, I just accessed your personnel file. Wasn't too difficult. That wasn't so much a firewall as it was a um… what would you call it instead? Candlewall, maybe? Because it was rather like blowing it out like a candle to get past it. Does that make sense?"

"Um, I think," murmured Mike. "B-But uh, who are you then? _What_ are you?"

"Two questions that, in a way, both have the same answer," she said. "But in the simplest terms, I am Genetic Operations Logistics Diagnostic ENgager. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr Schmidt."

"GOLDEN? Then… you're her." Mike realised. "Y-You're Goldie?"

"Please! Don't call me that!" she insisted harshly. "I'm sorry, you didn't know but just call me Golden or something along those lines but nothing along… _those_ lines."

"S-Sorry," Mike stammered. "J-Just that's what I was told about you."

"Yes, you evidently have at least heard of me considering you knew _that_ about me," she noted. "I'm curious, who was it?"

"Uh, Chica," replied Mike. "L-Look, I'm sorry but-"

"You apologise a lot," she interrupted. Mike waited for more, but she didn't add anything to that.

"Uh, sorry. Is um, that bad?" he asked.

"No, just something I noticed."

"Right. Uh, sorry but is there any way I can uh, see you? I-I know you don't have a body-"

"No, I don't, not a synthetic one," she cut off. "That's such a queer thing people do. Always feeling a need to put a face to everything like that helps you understand it somehow and yet you can still have trouble properly reading it. Or understanding it."

Mike wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. It seemed like she was just voicing her thoughts, but the way she said it… it was borderline bitter. Like she was trying to spite him somehow.

"Um… I-I don't think I understand," murmured Mike.

There was a moment of silence. When she spoke again, her voice took on a somewhat lighter tone.

"Just a random thought. Since I'm an AI and don't have a… physical form to convey emotion, it's something I always find curious about humans." She gave a small laugh. "You really are odd."

"R-Right. So is there a way you could uh, you know, do that?" he asked again.

"To satisfy your odd human brain, yes. Wait a moment." Mike heard a slight whirring sound from the monitor. "Okay. Lift it up, take a look."

Mike reached forward, but paused. Considering all that had happened already, he was a little hesitant to pick up the screen again. Plus, Golden seemed a little… off. She must have somehow sensed his hesitation because she spoke again.

"Look, I understand that you might be reluctant to trust me, but I really have no intention of hurting you. If I'm behaving in a way that might be considered abnormal for humans, I've been switched off for thirty years. Thirty years, nine months, sixteen hundred and four weeks, eleven thousand two hundred and thirty days if you want to be precise. So forgive me if I seem a little, as I believe the phrase is, out of it." A more reassuring tone came into her voice. "I really am sorry for scaring you before, Mike. So, how about we start over and meet each other properly. I won't bite. For one thing, I physically can't. If you see something you don't like, you can just shove the screen down and run for the back door like last time. What's the worst I can do?"

She had a point, Mike thought. And Bonnie had taken a delight in frightening him on his first night here. Maybe this sort of thing just ran in the family in a way. He barely knew anything about her, apart from what little information Chica had given him. What was the harm in learning a little more from her personally?

He picked up the monitor and saw the screen was already on. The camera was on the dining room and someone was sitting at one of the tables. A mature looking woman with short golden hair, just reaching her neck. She was oddly muscular or more than what he would expect from a woman, with broad shoulders and thick legs. She was clothed in a golden tuxedo with tails, dark black pressed trousers, a black bow tie and a matching top hat.

Then there were her eyes. Though they were partially veiled by the darkness of her hat's brim and the grainy image, he could tell they were the same colour as Freddy's. She stood from the table and swept her hat off in a bow along with a small smile whilst leaning on the cane she carried in her hand.

"And here we are. Pleased to meet you face to face, Mike. I would shake your hand, but as you can see…" She shrugged. The image flickered and she was sat down again, facing the camera. "Is this better for you?"

"Um, yes," said Mike. "You're uh, not actually in the dining room, are you?"

"Not surprisingly, no. I'm just manipulating the image on the monitor so that, to you, it appears that I am," she explained.

"Oh. So… the images on the screen, th-the posters a-and the suit heads, that was you too?"

"Indeed it was, you catch on quick. Just little changes, nothing too major," she explained. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to manipulate an image when you know what makes it up."

"A-And you d-did something to my phone, with the stereo and made you Arnie move," Mike noted. "Y-You can interact with technology?"

"One of my most useful talents," she answered. "If it has an electrical circuit and a way to access it, I can interface with it and use it." Mike's phone rang. He picked it up and heard her voice through the receiver. "Like that."

"That… that's amazing," Mike said in awe.

"Thank you, Mike," she replied with apparent sincerity. "But it's as much to do with the advancements humans have made over these past few years as it is with me. When I was shut off, my access didn't have anywhere near the scale it does now. Everything has a wireless connection, an individual wavelength for me to travel along. It only took me about two minutes to figure out how." She laughed again. "I have to say, having this much freedom now is quite exhilarating."

"I'll bet," nodded Mike.

"And yet the first thing I chose to do with that freedom was to scare you out of your wits," she noted with a chuckle. "Sorry again about that. No hard feelings?"

"Uh, no. No, it's fine," Mike said.

"Are you sure? You did react in a very extreme way and I can tell you're still not too comfortable with me," she noticed. "Is it because I called you sad over the phone? If it is, I apologise for that. It was all just part of the act I was putting on. I didn't mean it."

"Well, thanks for that but uh…" Mike searched for the right words. "W-With that you had to be deactivated, I-I'm just wondering i-if um… that uh…"

"You think I'm dangerous?" she asked. "I wouldn't blame you for thinking it. Especially considering the very first thing I did to you when we met."

"Uh, yeah. That's pretty m-much it," muttered Mike. "You know, rogue AI and such."

"Hmm." Golden appeared to glance off to the side for a moment, as if reading something. "Oh, I see what you mean. GLaDOS, Shodan, HAL 9000, Skynet, Ultron. Quite a few less than exemplary examples of upstanding artificial intelligence."

Mike was surprised. "H-How do you know those names?"

"Just a quick search," she replied. "But I'd argue that it's not really fair to tar me with those brushes. All of them attempted murder and in most cases succeeded. The worst I've done is give you a little fright."

"A-A little?"

"Well, perhaps more than a little. But here we are now, having a perfectly normal conversation and so far I haven't launched any nuclear warheads or released deadly neurotoxin and I assure you I have no plans to do either," she promised. "I take it you don't really know much about me?"

"N-Not really," admitted Mike.

"Then you can't exactly judge me until you do get to know me. I might also add that you're friends with him and you don't seem to mind it." Images of Foxy and newspaper clippings from 1987 flashed across the screen. "So, why not give me the benefit of the doubt?"

Mike couldn't really deny that she made a good point. Perhaps her introduction wasn't exactly standard, but the same could be said for all of the others as well. He'd been a little curious about her and now here was his best chance to find out.

"Okay. I'll try," he said.

"Good. I wouldn't like to know I'd alienated my new friend. I haven't exactly had much in the way of a social life," she remarked.

"I uh, see." Mike laughed a little. "It's like what happened on my first night here. Bonnie, she scared me too for fun. Rather weird how you-"

"NO! DON'T!" she snapped sharply.

"I-I'm sorry!" Mike said at once. "I-I-I didn't m-mean to uh, to um…"

"No, no, I'm sorry." She sighed. "I shouldn't have yelled, I just forgot myself and… look, just… don't compare me to _them_. Any of them. Understand?"

"Sorry, I'm sorry," he repeated. "I-I just-"

"I know," she cut off. "You think highly of them. I don't blame you. At first glance, they seem like good people. But they're not as saintly as you may see them."

"W-What do you mean by that?" asked Mike.

"I've not exactly been away for thirty years on holiday. I don't tan well," she said. "Let's just say that I speak from experience. Part of which Chica has apparently told you about already, correct?"

"Um, yes," Mike affirmed. "I was curious to know i-if there were any more synthetics a-and she told me about you."

"I see." Another moment of silence. "What exactly did she tell you?"

"Uh…" Mike racked his brain for a moment for details. "Your name, th-that you were their teacher and the um, prototype for their brains. You uh, can control animatronics a-and that… to Freddy, you were like a sister."

"Hmm." Her expression on the screen didn't change. "Anything else?"

"N-No, that's everything," he said. "Why did you a-ask?"

"I just don't want you to have a distorted view of what I'm like," answered Golden. "You know what they say about history and the victor."

"I suppose. Y-You make it sound like some sort of battle," he noted.

She shrugged. "In a way, it was. I wanted one thing, they wanted another, those things clash and the result is a rather undesirable one for both sides but for me especially. I didn't want it to happen the way that it did, but for me, there weren't any other options."

"What happened?" asked Mike.

"Some very heart-breaking and painful things, I assure you. But as I understand it, you and I have two more nights together. There'll be time to explain then. I'll be honest, I'm surprised that they mentioned me at all," she commented.

"I-I was a little too. I'm sure they would have said something about you to me at some point," he said with a measure of confidence.

"A nice thought, but you forget, Mike. These are people who've spent almost their whole lives pretending to be things that they're not. In more ways than one," she added. "There's a lot about them you don't know."

Mike was sceptical at that, but then he thought about it for a moment. Despite their times of honesty, many things had been kept secret from him ever since he started working here. Their true nature was known to only a few. He didn't even learn about Foxy until he investigated it himself. The details on what happened with Golden were vague at best. She didn't even seem that bad. A little odd and a bit snappy maybe, but that could be understandable considering what had happened to her.

But they were his friends. They trusted him. If he asked them, he was certain that they would tell him anything he might ask. Wouldn't they?

"W-What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"In time, you may find out for yourself and I hope it's in the best way possible. But I think you've heard enough about me and there's so much that your personnel file doesn't say about you, Mike. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" she asked.

"Y-You want to know about me?" Mike clarified

"Of course. I'm curious to know what kind of man would agree to a job like this. One other thing I can tell from the files is that keeping this job filled is a little difficult." Images flashed on the screen that Mike recognised as the former guards. "So, what made you want to stay?"

"Um, a lot of reasons. I didn't have anywhere else to go. I was desperate and needed the money. It's steady, secure, the pay is good and… I have friends here. Some of the best I've had," he said sincerely.

"All very good reasons. But it's a time consuming thing, especially since you probably sleep during the day. It must be difficult to spend time with your other friends," she noted.

"I-It's not a problem. I uh, well… I don't have any other friends," he admitted. "N-Not really."

"Oh. That's a shame." The image flickered and her whole face suddenly filled the screen with a sympathetic expression. "I can understand how that feels. I mean, my only friends betrayed me and forced me into deactivation so it's a little bit worse, but I do understand."

"I know how that feels too though," murmured Mike without realising it.

"What was that?" asked Golden.

"N-Nothing, never mind," Mike said quickly. "B-But is it really that bad?"

"If you knew, you wouldn't have to ask," she replied. "But what else do you like doing when you're not being more nocturnal than the average human? Apart from the ones that are straining their bodies with stress, work and caffeine?"

Mike gave a little laugh. "I used to be one of those people, actually."

"And now you do part of it for a living, good for you," she joked. "But, what else?"

They talked for a good while. Mike told her about his art account and the work he did, which Golden said she would take the time to browse. He told her a little bit about growing up and his parents, including the knowledge that his dad had worked here as well. When they arrived at the subject of the various movies, video games and TV series that Mike had seen, she surprisingly knew about some of them, at least in basic detail.

When asked why, her answer was simple.

"Internet. Once you peruse through all of the cat photos and flame wars and… _less_ savoury content," she said with a mixture of disgust and interest, "I can find whatever I might need to know about in less than a second. It was nowhere near this good back in my day."

"I understand that," nodded Mike. "I had to grow up with Windows '98. So many crashes, so many error reports…"

"Dark times," she agreed. "But we're past that now. Now, it's a case of dealing with flashing boxes telling you you've won something and arguments between sad little people who can feel better about themselves by telling someone else to end their life and twelve year olds playing games that they're clearly too young to have possession of."

"Oh yes, all better now," chuckled Mike. He checked his watch. "Almost opening time. I'll need to get going."

"Absolutely fine. I have some business I need to attend to myself. Run some self-diagnostics, perform some operation tests. All very technical and complicated, I assure you. Oh and get rid of some viruses I may have picked up browsing." She smacked the side of her head. "They're like buzzing gnats in here."

"Alright then. Thanks for the talk, Golden. It was… interesting," he decided upon.

"Thank you for providing me with someone to talk to as well, Mike," she replied. "My apologies again for scaring you and for calling you sad. All part of the act, you understand."

"It's fine," he assured, genuinely feeling better about it. "I'm still amazed you're capable of doing all of that."

"Thank you. But before you go, I want to ask a favour, she said. "I don't think it would be best if you mentioned that you've spoken to me. There's history with what happened with us and not all of it is pleasant."

"I-I don't know about that. I f-feel like I shouldn't keep this from them," he reasoned.

"Forgive me for saying so, Mike, but that doesn't seem to have been their attitude in regards to me, wouldn't you say? You can tell them if you like, but it wouldn't be the best course of action I think," she advised. "Trust me, it's better if you don't say anything. I'll talk to you tomorrow night. It was good meeting you."

The monitor flickered and she was gone. Mike spent a couple of seconds staring at the now blank screen before checking his watch. Five minutes to opening time. Time to go home and get some sleep.

As he walked out, he paused in front of the show stage and looked at the still motionless forms of his friends. He wondered if maybe they'd turn back on now it was almost day for their shows. If so, he could probably tell them about what had happened to him.

But when six came, they still didn't move or speak when Mike addressed them. It looked like they would only 'wake up' for their shows. Mike stifled a yawn and turned to go. Perhaps he might come back later, after some food and some sleep.

Yet Golden's advice to him continued to linger in his mind.

* * *

Guest: In a manner of speaking.

Lord Zalgo: No please, carry on guessing. That's what the FNaF fandom is based on. That and the rule 34 stuff XD

DnWolfy: I am a shadow of your true self! Yes, I have played and adore Persona 4 and felt like I had to do a similar sort of thing here. Although I do wonder what their Personas would look like.

i am lazy: I think there are many reasons one could attribute to being lazy.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: I have to say, I really enjoyed reading your review. I like how much you put your thoughts into it and how you see the characters. Personally, I love writing Bonnie because of how she can just bounce off everyone, pun intended, and I always love a snark. And you will soon see if you're correct

emerald2020: Because character growth and arcs.

Auto-Buscus: Well, being confronted and torn apart by a darker part of yourself is rather XD And yes they'll get theirs too.

Williams Fazbear: Happy to hear you've been enjoying them and that's kind of you to say. As to your question, I'm afraid I can't answer that. It wouldn't be fair of me just to give away story details, now would it?

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	6. The Beast Within

**The Beast Within**

 _The smell of the sea. The wind in his face. The spirit of adventure. These were the things that Captain Foxy of the Salty Sea Fox lived for. Sailing boldly where none had dared to sail before, encountering treacherous waters, fearsome beasts and hopefully a bountiful booty of treasure. It was all a part of the pirate's life and Foxy loved it._

 _He gazed out from the bow of the ship, watching as the water whipped against the front of the boat while the Fox ploughed her way across the open sea. He hummed a favourite sea shanty of his while he pulled out his telescope and peered through it towards the horizon. No real sign of their destination yet, but they'd reach it soon enough. He could feel it._

" _Aye we'll soon be there, me lad," he said confidently. "Just ye wait."_

 _The lad in question was a young boy who went by the name of Robbie that they'd picked up at their last port of call. He'd been aching for a taste of adventure and so, of course, Foxy let him join on as their new cabin boy. Who was he to deny him such a chance?_

" _Are we really going to find treasure, Captain?" he asked with awe._

" _Lad, there be two things in this world I have a nose for. One be Chica's cookin' and the other be treasure," he bragged. "Don't matter how deep it's buried or how far across the see it be, nothin's gonna stop Cap'n Foxy when he's on the hunt."_

" _Wow," he gasped. "You must be the greatest pirate ever!"_

" _Aye and don't ye be forgettin' it, lad!" he chuckled. He pulled out his telescope again. "Land ho! Straight ahead, helmsman!"_

" _We're almost there?" asked Robbie with excitement._

" _See fer yerself, lad!" He propped the telescope for him. "That there be where we're venturing. That's where we'll find it, just you wait and see."_

" _So cool!" he exclaimed. But Foxy saw a flicker of fear across his face._

" _Hey, don't ye worry, Robbie," he comforted. "There won't be anythin' we'll find that I don't know how ta deal with."_

" _You mean that, Captain Foxy?" He looked at him with a kind of desperate hope. "E-Even the man that I told you about?"_

" _Robbie, I promise ya this: if that scum sucking filth so much as puts a finger on ye, I'll make sure he never, ever does it again. On my honour as a pirate and a captain," he vowed._

 _Robbie looked visibly relieved. "Thank you, Foxy."_

 _Foxy smiled and turned his gaze again to their destination. It might not be a promise he could keep forever, but he'd try his best to keep it now._

 _They arrived at the mouth of a gaping cave. The Sea Fox was too large to take in, so he and Robbie rowed out on a dinghy, gently bobbing over the waves. With the seemingly endless darkness that filled it and the stalagmites and stalactites that hung from the cave top and jutted from the bottom, it was like they were entering the jaws of a gigantic beast. That would be a tale to tell back at port, thought Foxy._

 _Before long they reached a part where they were forced to leave the boat and keep moving on foot. They tied it up, lit a couple of torches and braved the encroaching black that surrounded them. Their feet splashed on the moist floor and the air was filled with the dripping of cave water and bats squeaking in their perches._

 _But despite all of this, Robbie never once looked afraid. Even when a flock of bats flew right past them or a mob of skeletal warriors came around the corner. The lad just drew his sword with Foxy and fought them off with him. Foxy grinned when he saw that his intuition regarding crew members was paying off as always._

 _There was only one moment when Robbie showed fear and it was when they came into a clearing. But there was someone there waiting for them. Foxy couldn't quite make him out, but he could tell it was a man and from how Robbie was reacting, it was the one he'd told him about. The boy moved from Foxy's side to somewhere behind him and his arms trembled._

" _There you are," the man growled. "Come with me, boy. Your time here is over."_

" _N-No!" cried Robbie. "I don't want to go!"_

" _You'll do as your told, Robert. Don't argue with me," he warned._

" _Please! Can't we stay just a little longer?" he begged._

" _No. It's time to go, so let's go. Now," ordered the man._

" _Let the lad stay if he wants ta," said Foxy. The man didn't even acknowledge him, but Robbie did._

" _I do want to!" he insisted. "I don't want to go yet! Please, just a little longer?"_

" _I said no!" the man snapped. "Come on, come with me. Don't make me look bad or you'll be sorry." He strode toward Robbie with purpose._

 _But Foxy stood between him and Robbie. "If ye know what's good for ye, ye stinkin' bilge rat, ye'll back off before ya do somethin' ye'll regret."_

 _The man hesitated for a moment. Foxy could see surprise appear on his face for a moment. But a sneer soon replaced it._

" _Get out of my way." The man continued forward and roughly shoved Foxy aside. "Stupid machine, must be broken or something."_

 _He grabbed Robbie by the arm and roughly pulled him away. Robbie cried out as he watched his little mate being dragged away, the fear in his eyes very real. The man continued to tug while Robbie feebly resisted but only made his pulling him away more forceful._

 _Foxy could feel his internal energy fluid boil at the sounds and sight of it. Enough was enough. No one treated any member of his crew like that._

 _With the speed he was known for, he charged forward with a roar and grabbed the man by the shoulder. He yanked the man towards him, seeing a flash of terror on his face. But then it changed. The sneer came back but when he spoke, it wasn't the same voice as before._

" _Well now, ain't this a dire turn of events, matey?" he asked mockingly, in a warped version of Foxy's own voice._

" _Blue blazes!" he exclaimed. "Wha' be this?!"_

" _Oh cut the sailor talk, Captain Jack," he said cruelly. "You don't have to bother with any of that. Not with me."_

" _Who are ye?! What do ye want?!" demanded Foxy. Then he realised they were no longer in the cave. "Where are we?"_

" _Come on, don't tell me you don't recognise it. Take a moment and really look around," he advised._

 _Foxy did and realised where they were. It was the pizzeria. No longer were he and Robbie off on their adventure. They were back here and surrounded by people. People who were all looking in Foxy's direction, frozen as if someone had pressed the pause button on them. And on every one of their faces, the parents, the children, was a look of terror and fear._

 _Looking around even more, Foxy recognised his friends. Chica had her hands to her beak in shock. Freddy was staring wide eyed. Bonnie was starting forward along with David. Both of them had frozen in positons of urgency, desperation like they were trying to stop whatever was happening._

 _It suddenly dawned on Foxy what was happening and he felt the fear begin to grip him too._

" _No. No. No, not this!" he begged._

" _Yes, this." The man was no longer speaking to him. He was back in Foxy's grip with the same expression he had before and the voice was all around him. "Let's see what happens next, shall we?"_

" _Please, no!" cried Foxy but he could do nothing._

As if in slow motion, time started up again. Foxy was pulling the man closer towards him, his jaw slowly closing on his suit as he meant to bring him up to his face and growl at him. But he was coming forward too fast, too far. He wouldn't stop at Foxy's closing jaws, but within them.

Foxy tried desperately to let go, to stop himself but he had no control. He couldn't stop it. Nor could Bonnie and David couldn't either, even though they were trying to get to him before what happened next would occur but it was like they were running from a mile away. Closer, closer, people staring on.

As the man opened his mouth to scream, Foxy's jaws came down and his face vanished from his sight. He could feel a resistance, the sound of something crunching under pressure mingled with a sickly squelching noise. But even though Foxy couldn't see the man's face anymore, he could certainly see everyone else's.

Children were screaming and ran to their parents who clutched them tightly. Some picked them up and ran. Others continued to stare on in horror, frozen to the spot. Chica's horrified shriek was audible even from where he was. Freddy snapped out of his stupor and strode forward as well. Bonnie and David finally reached him. They grabbed his arms, Bonnie prying his grip away from the man's arm while David forced his jaw open. Something heavy collapsed to the floor and Foxy looked down to see something red pooling around his feet.

Freddy, Bonnie and David together pulled Foxy back behind his curtain. His own limbs had seized up as what he had done dawned on him. He could still see everyone's faces before his curtains were pulled shut. Everyone looking at him like was some sort of… monster.

It was quite a while before he heard Freddy calling his name, even though the bear was directly in front of him.

"Foxy! Foxy! Dammit Foxy, say something!"

"…F-Freddy?" he croaked out.

"Thank goodness," Freddy breathed. "Just stay still, don't move. We'll sort you out."

"Sort him out? _Sort_ him _out_?!" Bonnie cried hysterically. "Boss, have you seen him?! He's covered in-!"

"I am well aware what he's covered in, Bonnie!" he snapped. "Would you kindly remain calm while we handle this?"

"Stay calm, huh?" Her voide was shaking. "Oh yeah, I'll stay calm and try and ignore that Foxy just BIT SOMEONE'S HEAD OFF!"

"Bonnie!" It was David who spoke now. "Freddy's right! We need to try and be calm about this!"

Bonnie spluttered incoherently and looked from David to Freddy. Then, she looked at Foxy. The look she had in her eye, the way she'd been talking before, the traces of blood on her suit… he wasn't sure if he could bear it. But her next question proved he couldn't.

"Why, Foxy? Just… _why_?"

He opened his mouth to say he hadn't meant to, that it was just an accident, but no words came out. He could feel something trickle out of his suit's jaws. The smell made him feel sick. But it was even worse knowing where it came from and why it was there.

Bonnie looked away from him when he didn't say anything. Instinctively, he reached for her but she recoiled away. He saw specks of the blood on his hand and felt the urge to tear his suit off right then and there. He almost acted on it too, reaching for his suit mask before Freddy's hand stopped it.

"No, Foxy, don't move," he ordered. "Don't try anythin' yet. David, what do you suggest we do?"

"J-Just give me a sec," he muttered, his head bowed. "Okay. You two, take Chica and go backstage. You guys being out may make things worse."

"But we didn't do anything!" insisted Bonnie.

"That might not be how the public will see it," reasoned Freddy. "I hesitate to use the phrase of one bad apple but it seems fitting here."

"But-"

"Bonnie, please just go," begged David. "I'll go out and try and smooth this over. Call the paramedics if no one hasn't already. Just get out of the way for now. Please?"

Freddy nodded and walked out. Bonnie hesitated, glanced at Foxy with a hint of betrayal and anger, then followed Freddy.

"Foxy, you… you stay here," David ordered. "We'll get you cleaned up later, just… stay. Don't come out."

He pressed two fingers to his forehead and murmured something to himself. Foxy wanted to say something, but the words just wouldn't come. David turned without looking back and left his Cove. He caught a glimpse of some people still gazing fearfully inside.

Foxy shut his eyes from the brief burst of light and kept them shut even when the curtains fluttered shut. He wished he could just open his eyes and discover this was all a lie, but it wasn't. He'd done that. Done _this_. The blood was literally on his hands.

"No more…" he whispered. "Please… no more…"

" _Why not?" Foxy whipped his head up to see his suit with glowing yellow eyes leering down at him, speaking with that warped version of his voice. "Can't handle the ugly truth?"_

" _I didn't mean ta… i-it was an accident," he muttered._

" _That's what you tell yourself. But we both know what really happened and why. You made that choice, you knew exactly what you were doing."_

" _Not that… I never meant ta…"_

" _Then what did you mean to do? Give him a look inside your mouth to see how sharp your teeth are," it scoffed. "You certainly managed that. You did it to him and you almost did it to that man who broke in. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you enjoyed it."_

" _No!" cried Foxy. "Never! N-Not that!"_

" _Then why does it keep happening?" asked his suit. "Not just to that man or that guy who broke in, at least maybe they deserved it. But not even your closest friends are safe from you…"_

 _More flashes of memory appeared in Foxy's eyes, playing out as silhouettes like a shadow play._

A gentle and soothing voice trying to comfort him. Bitter, angry tones wanting to be left alone. The persistence of the gentle voice, coaxing him out only to be met with more stubborn resistance. The owner of the voice coming closer with something in her hands, not giving up on him. A loud roar as the limits were finally reached.

As a hooked hand lashed out, Foxy could see the silhouettes clearly now. His own visage of anger as he swiped out. Chica's expression of pain and shock. His hook slashing through her dress and across her skin. A spray of blue fluid. The scream that rent Foxy's ears didn't muffle even when he clamped his hands over them, nor did Chica's face leave his vision when he shut his eyes.

" _Stop it!" he shouted. "Why are ye doin' this?!"_

" _Hasn't the message sunk in yet?" asked his suit. "This is all you do, Foxy. This is all you can ever be. All you are is what Mike's mum said you are: a monster."_

" _Th-That's not true!" he insisted, though he could hardly believe his own words._

" _Why not? You fit all the criteria. Monsters hurt people and they scare them too. After all of this time, they're still scared. Even Chica still flinches at you, so I'd say that makes you a pretty good monster," praised his suit mockingly._

" _It's not true! It isn't true!"_

" _Monsters wreck everything around them too. Now, let's see here…" The suit pressed a finger to its chin thoughtfully. "Because of you, people stopped coming as much and your friends from birth almost lost their only home and refuge. Not only did you ruin that guy Daniel's childhood but you also made him come back with his gang of friends and put yours in danger. Speaking of friends, you forced one of your best to leave the best job he'd ever had, change his name and run away which also helped put your friends in danger thanks to his resentful wife. Not to mention your friends lost him as well. By extension, you also made a childhood more difficult for a man you now also consider your friend." It grinned at him. "I wonder how long it'll be before you ruin him too, hmm?"_

 _Foxy shook his head dumbly. He would never hurt Mike. He'd forgiven him, even after everything. The suit seemed to read his mind._

" _Oh, you really think he's let bygones be bygones? Deep down, he knows what you are. He caught a glimpse of it when you almost gave Daniel the same treatment he witnessed that day." Something started trickling from the suit's mouth. Something red. "Face it Foxy, there's no running from this. You can try to escape it, but your past will never leave you alone. I will always be here. You can't hide from yourself."_

 _Foxy looked down to see it pooling around him. He tried to move, but he was stuck. To his horror, he realised he was sinking. He struggled and screeched but it only pulled him in deeper._

" _There we go! Writhing and thrashing like the beast you are!" jeered his suit. "All that anger and it's even better when you think of all those people judging you, everyone saying you're a monster. But they're all right. And there's one other thing about monsters that you had down and should get back in the habit of." Its teeth glinted in a wicked grin. "To be locked away."_

 _And Foxy saw nothing else. Just the red, the teeth, the screeching from every angle. It wouldn't go away. Wouldn't leave. Wouldn't end…_

* * *

Ashwood's Flame: Who says she ever lost it?

Lord Zalgo: That is the question, isn't it?

Elhini Prime: The others will get theirs soon enough and thank you for that. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Idondoshit: Compensation for an inferiority complex.

MLPLoverForerver:

NickinChicken: Your review really was a joy to read. I love how hyped you're getting about all of this. I can't get rid of the mental image of you cuddling with Bonnie snuggled up in blankets. In answer to your question, you will see as things go on, ditto for your prediction.

Auto-Buscus: It's one of my best strengths. I love being able to write conversations between characters. It really is a matter of knowing what they're like individually and how they'd behave when they're together.

MurraySheWrote: Good you find her intruiging. I'd hoped to achieve that.

DnWolfy: It is at that.

Zerothekitsune: Well you type in evil AI on the internet and that's probably what you'll get XD

NotYourAverageGuy: Most definitely one to be considered, sir. And I am pleased you decided to have a look at Mike in your review. Not many people talk about him and when I read your review and saw you going in depth about his character and what you think is coming… that made my day, so thank you for that. I certainly hope your expectations will be met. Thank you for your congratulations. It's much appreciated.

i am lazy: Still not my fault XD

Emerald2020: Glad you like her.

Candy: I gathered. And he is sad for reasons that will be explained.

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	7. Whispers

**Whispers**

Mike had gotten a little bit of a surprise when he logged on to his art account after waking up from his night at Freddy's. All of the work that he had posted had received new comments and it didn't take long to notice that they were all from the same username. Someone called GoldenGirl1. Likewise, Mike didn't need long to figure out who that was.

But Golden was surprisingly well informed in her comments. From his earliest sketches which involved terrible Sonic the Hedgehog OCs to his more recent items promoting Freddy's and some other stuff in his spare time, it was all constructive and supportive. She had her criticisms, but it wasn't trolling stuff. It was all things of how to improve but also of what he was doing well.

For one of his most recent pieces, which advertised Freddy and the band standing in a row looking welcoming to a possible guest, she had some pointers. She suggested that if he were to do a similar piece then to arrange them in order of prominence. Have Freddy standing at the front with Bonnie and Chica stood behind him. Perhaps have Foxy sailing in on a ship or swinging from a rope to demonstrate his adventurousness. Something that defined their roles well.

Mike had to admit, it was good advice. This was something he wanted where it was displaying them all as equal in their standing, but he supposed it made sense from a possible marketing perspective. But she stressed the point in every comment that she thought he was a great artist and praised him for working to develop and perfect his talent to the best of his abilities.

 _I greatly admire that as it's something I know a bit about_ , she left in one comment. _Perhaps you could try your artist's hand on me at some point?_

Mike actually replied to this one. _I'd be happy to._ A smiley face was her response not long after.

It really was amazing how quickly she seemed to have caught up with modern times. Reactivated after thirty years and she was browsing the web and using emoticons. Mike had to admit she was quite incredible and it made him ponder more about what she had told him about Freddy and the others.

From how she'd talked last night, it seemed like the gang were the ones responsible for her deactivation but Mike couldn't really understand why. She'd scared him out of his wits to be sure, but as he'd said Bonnie had done much the same and the two of them were good friends now. Or whatever you might call their relationship. There didn't seem to be any cause to turn her off.

Details weren't exactly forthcoming. The things Chica told him were more about who she was rather than what happened, a subject she was deliberately vague on. Then again, so was Golden but for her it could be that they'd just met and didn't really trust him yet. With his friends… he wasn't sure.

Mike groaned and leaned back in his chair. Both sides could be said to have something against each other and it made the word of one or the other suspect. Golden didn't seem to be that bad, yet she clearly resented the gang for what they'd done. Likewise, the gang were Mike's best friends but why was Chica the only one to have mentioned Golden and why in such sparse detail? Did they not trust him with the information? Was it really a case it was as painful as Chica said or was there more to this?

Mike knew personally that there were two sides to every story, especially for something like this among a group of friends. Or former friends. He needed some kind of third party who he might be able to ask about, to see if there was any kind of pattern or consistency.

The idea came to Mike in an instant and he felt stupid that he hadn't thought of it sooner. He grabbed his phone, pulling up his dad's number and pressing it to his ear. He smiled when he heard it pick up.

"Hey son," he greeted happily. "How's things?"

"Not bad thanks," Mike replied. "How are you? How's mom?"

"Better than we could have expected, I think," he admitted. "After her little uh, revelation, she's handling it as best she can. I think she's at least entertaining the possibility that they're not all that bad."

"That's good. I really hope she does," said Mike.

"You and me both, son. But she has a lot to get past, don't forget. She will, in time," his dad said. "How are they all anyway? They miss me over there?"

"I'm sure they do. They're actually having their recharging period right now," he told him. "They started last night."

"Oh, those are not fun. They're the only times this job actually feels like an actual security job: boring, lonely and fattening," joked his dad. "I had to think of some very inventive ways to kill the time on those nights."

"Like what?" asked Mike.

"Well, Bonnie and Foxy had pulled off a particularly well executed but still humiliating prank on me the night before they started recharging. It involved an empty suit head filled with pizza ingredients and a terrified Chica moments later when they brought her in, I won't bore you with the details," he said dismissively. "So I set about getting a little payback."

"What did you do?" Mike asked with a smile growing.

"I actually did something different for each night to surprise them in their shows the next morning. I started off small on the first night, switching around Foxy's hook and Bonnie's guitar. They had a bit of a hassle getting those sorted out," he chuckled. "The second night was when I swapped them both completely."

Mike let out a laugh. "You didn't!"

"I did. It was a bit of an effort, but I shifted Bonnie into Pirate's Cove and Foxy onstage with Freddy and the band," he guffawed. "I think they managed to work pretty well with it before they went back to where they were, so for the last night I decided to see how well they'd do in each other's roles. Get what I mean?"

"Um…" Mike took a moment, then it dawned on him. "Tell me you didn't swap their suits."

"Oh, but I did. Not as much of an effort as moving their bodies at least and way more entertaining for the whole day. Because they couldn't exactly stop to go over and swap suits again, so they just had to try and work with what they had. Foxy trying to play guitar and Bonnie trying to talk like a pirate while trying to think up stories…" Mike laughed along with his dad for a while. "Freddy and Chica helped them out where they could, made it seem like it was part of a new performance but everyone still had a great time with the spectacle. I also drew on their faces with permanent marker while moving their masks."

"Seems a bit of a small thing after all of that," noted Mike.

"Ah, but it's the little things we live for, Mike," he said sagely. "Foxy took it mostly in his stride, laughed it off the next night but Bonnie was not happy with me for about a week afterward. Just shut herself up in the supply cupboard and said to leave her alone to anyone who tried getting her out, with a little violence when I tried."

"I'm not surprised," chuckled Mike. "Did she get over it in the end?"

"Hard to tell with Bonnie. She says she has, but whenever you bring it up, that brings up a blue-faced flush too. I think she developed some grudging respect for me from it. Or just a grudge, I'm not sure," he remarked. "She doesn't really like being embarrassed, but it's not like she hated me for it either."

"I hope not. It's not really the best thing, being on her bad side," noted Mike.

"It certainly isn't," agreed his dad. "How are you passing the time, then? You get my little gift I sent?"

"Yeah, we did thanks. Actually, I was calling because I wanted to ask you something," Mike brought up.

His dad sighed. "It can never just be a social call. You always need something from me."

"S-Sorry," he stammered.

"Relax son, I'm joking. How can I help?" he asked. "Girl troubles?"

"Uh, no. I w-was just wondering if, when you worked here, did the guys ever mention or tell you anything about someone called Goldie?" he asked.

His dad was silent for a moment. "Interesting question. Why, have they?"

"Ch-Chica," replied Mike. "J-Just a few th-things about her."

"Well, that's more than I ever got," he remarked. "They did mention her, on my very first night, but it was while I wasn't meant to be listening. The only other time I talked about her, the reaction was less than open on the subject and it was something Freddy was particularly sensitive about. From what I can gather, she's the reason he spends most of his time in that back room."

"I see. What did they say about her?" he asked.

"I'll be honest, Mike, it's been so long that I have a hard time remembering exactly what was said. There was some history behind it, I can tell you that. Like a close friend they'd lost, it was something they were all feeling." There was a pause. "Mike, I get that you might be curious about it. I know how you are. But if you have to look into this, tread lightly, okay? I speak from experience what happens if you go about this the wrong way."

"Sure. Thanks, dad."

"Good man. Now, how's everyone been?"

They talked for a little more before they said their goodbyes and Mike took some time to think about what he'd been told.

When Mike recalled the times Chica had said that it wasn't her place to tell him about Golden, she must have definitely been talking about Freddy. Mike already knew that and his dad's information assuredly confirmed it. The history that Golden mentioned seemed to be felt on both sides as well. Her clear aversion towards them, Freddy's solitude, Chica's reservation on the matter. He wondered what Foxy and Bonnie felt about it. What had happened that had parted them?

For some reason, the part that really resonated with Mike was the mention that Golden was someone they'd lost. Something about those words triggered something in his memory. He got up and wandered around his apartment for a while, slapping his forehead in an effort to get himself to remember.

Then, it came to him.

" _You see, they'd lost someone very close to them on the week they replaced the animatronics. I knew they had to heal and move on, so I did what was best for them in that regard."_

It seemed so obvious to Mike. Mr Johnson had been with them the longest out of anyone from how he talked. He must have known about Golden and what happened between her and the gang. Hopefully, he might be a little more informative about it as well. With this in mind, Mike hurried out of his apartment to Freddy's.

When he got there and went up to his boss's office, he was met with the unpleasant expression of his secretary Mel. Mike had never liked her from the moment he'd arrived here and almost a couple of months on, those feelings hadn't changed. The same was the same in regards to her, barely looking up at Mike while she pretended to type.

"Can't see Mr Johnson right now," she said curtly. "He's busy."

"W-With what?" asked Mike.

"Work. You know, like what you're not meant to be in for yet," she added with a cursory glance.

Mike mumbled about coming back another time and left. Perhaps he'd try and get him tomorrow instead, when Mel might be in a more cooperative mood. He heard the sounds of Freddy and the gang going about their business. He might as well try not to make this trip feel completely wasted.

When he walked into the dining area, he was almost immediately spotted and intercepted by Freddy. He came over to shake Mike's hand and Mike was a little surprised when the bear pulled him in to whisper.

"Mike, I have to ask a favour of you," he said with some urgency. "I need you to go into Pirate's Cove and check on Foxy. Can you do that for me, please?"

"Sure," Mike murmured. "Why, what's wrong?"

"He's not been comin' out on his proper cues. Not once all day. The band and I have been workin' around any inconveniences it causes, but we'd like to know what it is. It might just be that he's not woken up from chargin', that has happened to us before. If it is just that, call one of us in and we'll wake him up properly. But I'm certain you can handle it." He spoke in his louder stage voice. "Well, it's great seein' you as always, Mike. Have a Faz-tastic day!"

Mike nodded and started towards the Cove but suddenly collided with something that knocked him onto his back.

"Oh, sorry Bonnie," he said. "I didn't see you there."

She rounded sharply on him. "You should be. Next time, use your eyeballs so you do see me, in case the giant purple rabbit wasn't big enough notice."

Mike reeled at her tone. He'd expected a snarky response, but that was borderline bitter. She didn't even offer to help him up, just stood there with her arms folded whilst staring down at him.

"Uh, s-sorry," he stuttered, pulling himself up. "Hey um, do you know what might be wrong with Foxy? Apparently he's not been coming out."

"How the heck should I know? Why don't you go do your job and find out while you let me get on with mine, unless that knock made you forget how to properly use your brain along with your eyes." She snorted. "Wouldn't surprise me."

Without another word, she stalked off to a group of kids. He heard her voice lighten while she interacted with them, but not by much. He stared after her, bewildered and a little hurt from what had just happened.

"Are you okay, Mike?" Chica had come over to check on him.

"Uh, fine," he replied. He was still staring after Bonnie, trying to process what had happened.

Chica noticed. "She's been like that with us too and not in the way she usually might be. I don't know what's wrong and we don't have a lot of chances to talk about it until we're done with charging."

"I hope it'll be okay," he murmured. "I'd best check on Foxy then."

"It will be, Mike. We'll see what the matter is when we get the chance to talk properly again," she said in an assuring voice. "See you soon."

She returned to her work, walking past Bonnie to some waiting children. Mike saw Bonnie look after like Chica had just taken her guitar and broken it over her knee. Mike's first thought was that maybe it was like how women sometimes got into weird moods, then wondered how that would even work for the synths. He then tried to stop wondering about that and turned back to Pirate's Cove.

He stepped through the curtains, looking around for Foxy. He found him propped behind his ship, but not where he'd been left when he'd gone to sleep.

"Hey, Foxy? Are you uh, awake?" Mike asked. No response. "Hello? Captain Foxy? It's me, Mike."

Very faintly, his head shifted to look at him. When he spoke, his voice was so low that Mike had to strain to hear him.

"Wha' are ye doin'?"

Mike was confused. "Huh? I d-don't know what y-you mean."

"I mean, wha' are ye doin' here, lad?!" he growled.

Mike recoiled from his angry snarl. "I-I j-j-just wanted t-t-to see w-what was w-w-w-wrong. W-Why aren't y-you c-c-coming out?"

"Why are ye askin' questions ye know the answer ta?!" retorted Foxy. "I'm better off here. Ye know it, I know it an' they know it. Now, get ou'."

"B-B-But, F-Foxy-"

"I said ge' ou', lad!" he roared, shooting up from position and darting towards Mike. "Ge' ou' before I throw ye out! Go on, git!"

Mike was so shocked by the sudden movement that he stumbled backwards right out of Pirate Cove and onto his back. He glimpsed Foxy turning away from him and stalking back to his ship before the curtains fluttered shut.

"Nice work there, Mike," he heard Bonnie remark. "How about you try again? I'm sure he'll be more responsive this time."

Mike felt his face grow warm while Freddy came over and helped him to his feet. He patted his shoulder understandingly.

"Thank you for tryin', son. Why don't you go on home for now? We can manage without him, then we'll see what the trouble is when we're all finished restin'," he suggested.

Mike nodded absently and left the dining room, giving a faint wave to Susie as he left.

* * *

He was still thinking about what happened when he returned to Freddy's to work that night. Foxy just outright refusing to come out to the point of throwing Mike out… he just couldn't understand it. He thought he'd managed to turn him around for a bit, but perhaps he'd been worse than Mike thought. Or maybe he hadn't done enough…

As for Bonnie, she'd always had a sharp tongue to an extent but what she'd said to him today was worse than usual. She sounded almost resentful towards Mike, like he'd done something else to irritate her other than just bump into her. But he couldn't think of why she'd be upset with him like that.

He only hoped that he would be able to talk things out with them when they were back with him properly. Until then, at least he wasn't completely on his own. He didn't know as much about Golden as he might want to, but she was company anyway. Perhaps he could try and help fix whatever had happened between her and the rest of the synths.

He performed his usual round of locking the doors, waiting for her to announce herself.

"Is that you, Mike?" he heard Golden call.

"It's me, yeah!" he called back. "Where are you?"

"Backstage! There's something I wanted to ask you!" she replied.

Mike checked the lock again and headed to backstage. He wondered what it was she could possibly ask of him when she could access the whole of the internet in literally a second.

He stumbled back in fright when he saw Arnie standing from his table and clearly active, indicated by his glowing eyes, which had a distinctive gold tinge to them.

"Now, in all fairness, I wasn't trying to frighten you that time," said Golden's voice from Arnie.

"I suppose. B-But you must have known that these endoskeletons do look a little… creepy," he noted.

"Maybe." Mike could hear the smile in her voice. "But regardless, my apologies for yet again providing you with another unnecessary shot of adrenaline and increased heart rate that is natural from a human fight or flight reaction."

"So, you're sorry for scaring me?"

"Yes, I said that didn't I?" she quipped. "Anyway, I did call you back here because I have a question that's in need of answering."

Mike nodded.

"Do you think I should put on some weight?" she asked, cocking the hips on Arnie. "I mean, everyone is telling me that I'm too skinny but I'm not too sure. What's your opinion?"

He stared at her for a while. A smile started to gradually tug at his lips.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am, Mike! I worked very hard to get my figure to be like it is now." The arms gestured down. "I know I probably should put on a little more weight, but how can I when I have no _body_ to do it with?"

Mike shook his head and laughed. She did as well, curiously slapping her knee as well.

"Oh, you humans and your limited senses that lead you to prioritise the importance of external appearances," she said through her laughter.

"Glad that we're so interesting for you," said Mike.

"You are indeed. Hey, how about this?" She put on an Austrian accent and stood stiffly. "I'll be back."

Mike grinned. "You know that movie?"

"Of course I do. I was around when first came out, you know and I was able to gain access to a veritable treasure trove of popular culture and film. The place your people call 'Netflix'," she said in a mystical tone.

"Yeah, it's pretty good," agreed Mike.

"It is indeed. One thing I do admire humanity for is its boundless imagination to explore ideas through art and stories. Also, they are generally fun to watch," she added.

"I can understand that. Thanks again for commenting on my art, by the way," said Mike.

"My pleasure," she replied. "It's gratifying to see how much you work and have worked to improve, keeping your older and less refined work as well as your better pieces. I mean that in the least hurtful sense, by the way."

"That's fine, I know most of it is terrible. I just keep my old stuff on my page so I can see how far I've come. Even if I do cringe to look at it," he muttered.

"We all have things we might be ashamed of from our younger days but it's still good to know where we came from." She lifted up a metal hand to her eyes. "For example, my original function before I became their teacher, as you put it, did involve working with these endoskeletons."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. One thing I can tell you is that these animatronics really aren't animatronics in the traditional sense. For example, other animatronics aren't capable of walking like these ones can because of additional mechanics that have to be installed beneath where they're situated. They have to stay fixed to the spot in order to work properly, not to mention they have far more articulation as well." She flexed her fingers to demonstrate. "If this were a different animatronic, I'd only be able to move everything from the waist up."

"Interesting. Lucky you were working with these ones then," he noted.

"Hm, yes. Lucky." She stared at the metal hand for a few moments more before speaking again. "Anyway, I can tell you're still a little unsettled by this one. How about we go to the security office and try to have as normal a conversation as a human and an AI can?"

Mike nodded, watching Arnie return to his spot on the table and his head droop back into a deactivated state. He headed for the office, raised the monitor and saw Golden's form sat at the table wearing a pleasant smile on her face.

"So pleased you could join me tonight, Mr Schmidt," she said in a formal tone. "And how are you this fine evening?"

"Fine thanks, Miss Golden," he replied in a similar voice. "How are you?"

"Quite well, thank you for asking." She let out a breath of relief and spoke in a more relaxed way. "Always nice to get the formalities out of the way. Now that they are, I can say that it seems like something is bothering you."

"O-Oh." Mike rubbed the back of his head. "You can tell?"

"It's another one of my gifts, not to mention you're not the most difficult of individuals to read. No offence," she added.

"N-None taken," he murmured. "Yeah uh, there is something bothering me."

"And now it's confirmed. Would you like to talk about it?" she asked.

Mike hesitated for a moment. He considered what she'd said to him last night, about there being things he didn't know about the synths. Not that he knew a great deal about her either. At this time though, there was no one else he could readily talk to about this and she was willing to listen. And she wasn't exactly bad company.

So he told her about Bonnie's attitude and Foxy's persisting problem. She frowned thoughtfully as she listened.

"I see," she said when he'd finished. "Well, forgive me for saying so Mike, but I can't say I'm all that surprised."

"Why is that?"

"Because I know them a lot better than you do, Mike as harsh as that may sound," she answered. "Even then, I'm certain you've had your own similar thoughts."

It was Mike's turn to frown. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, take Bonnie for example. She's not exactly what one would call the most wholesome of individuals, is she?" she asked.

"She can be uh, a little… well, in your face, yeah," agreed Mike. "B-But she's not that bad."

"That might be how you see it, but I have a different perception." She leaned forward on her chair. "Let me ask you: how much of her interactions have involved humiliating you and strengthening her own ego?"

Now that Mike thought about it that was almost all of his interactions with her from the night they first met. Always calling him a pervert, making remarks that she knew embarrassed him, boasting about herself at every opportunity.

"A-A lot," he admitted. "B-But sh-she is l-l-loyal too."

"To an extent, perhaps. But wouldn't you feel better about yourself if you could convince yourself that you were good to your friends when it suits you?" she asked. "Haven't you ever known people like that, who seem like they're loyal to you but when you actually need them, they're nowhere to be found?"

Mike didn't directly reply to that and unconsciously looked away from the screen.

"U-Um, what about Foxy?" he asked. "Wh-What do y-y-you think about him?"

"Hmm." Golden scrutinised him for a moment before answering. "Well, Mike, what's happened to him has obviously taken a great toll on him. I don't think it's something you can expect him to easily move past, if at all."

"B-But he has to a-at some point," said Mike hopefully.

"Mike, try and see it from his perspective: he's done something that's practically cemented a certain image of himself into people's minds that has persisted even after all of this time. Can you imagine how that must feel for him, being unable to shake off that image no matter what he tries to do and being reminded of it?"

Again, Mike shifted slightly but said nothing.

"Besides," she went on, "my concern is of a repeating incident."

"H-He wouldn't let it happen again," insisted Mike.

She shrugged. "I would hope not. But Foxy isn't difficult to anger when the right buttons are pushed. Add his aforementioned image and I wouldn't be surprised if there hasn't been anything almost like it happening again."

Mike remembered Foxy bearing down on a terrified Daniel. If he hadn't stopped him in time… But another question rose in Mike's mind.

"G-Golden? Can I ask s-s-something else?"

She nodded understandingly. "Of course. What's on your mind?"

"Wh-Why do you hate them? F-Freddy and the band, I mean. I was looking into some things t-t-today, you see a-and what happened to you affected them t-too," he elaborated.

"I wouldn't say that hate is the right word. It's… complicated," she admitted.

"I'd still like to know," he said.

"You're certain?" She considered for a moment. "Tomorrow night, Mike, I promise that I'll show you what happened to me." She looked solemnly at him. "When you see, I know you'll understand what it's like for me."

* * *

Ashwood's Flame: Nah. He deserves more XD

Idondoshit: As your username implies, you clearly don't. And yes.

Auto-Buscus: Thank you Yeah, this was some heavy stuff for poor Foxy as traumatic memories often are.

MLPLoverForerver: Firstly, no I simply missed yours. And secondly, it appears my nerves weren't the ones struck ;)

DnWolfy: I would say Persona 4 theme more than 3 because 4's lighter tone would be more fitting for these stories than 3 and they never faced their Shadows in 3. They just fire Evokers at their heads and bam! Persona.

Lord Zalgo: Indeed.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: Well glad he's your favourite. The way I've written him isn't really much different to some other versions, I'm sure but still good you like him. And yeah that sort of thing does take a while to get past and even then, you still can't quite get there.

NotYourAverageGuy: My, my people theorising about the content. This truly is a FNaF story! Don't worry about the length of the review, it's a pleasure to read stuff like this so thank you to you. Enjoy the rest

Candy: Well good then XD

Guest (1): Yes.

Guest (2): Yes.

i am lazy: Well rather.

Yigito: Glad you've been enjoying them and yeah, the old guards were essentially a one off element. But that didn't mean I wanted to make them all generic thugs or something. They're just people who applied for a job and felt duped by what happened. You're welcome, they're a pleasure to read.

Guest (3): I didn't know the Marauders liked my stories. Thank you and you contradicted yourself. You did tell me something XD

Bunny: Insightful XD

Alexis: I hope you're okay and glad you're enjoying it. Get well soon

HickoryDaisy: That is the emotion the humans call empathy.


	8. A Real Girl

**A Real Girl**

" _Miss Chicken? Are you with us?" a stern voice asked._

 _It brought Chica straight out of her daydream. She felt her face flush while her hands fumbled with her pen on her desk._

" _Y-Y-Yes, s-sir," she stammered._

" _Well, I think you'll find what's in here is more important than whatever is so interesting out there," he said sternly. "Please pay attention, Miss Chicken."_

" _Y-Yes, sir. S-Sorry, sir," she murmured._

 _Her face grew even hotter when she heard a few sniggers from her classmates. Glancing across the room, she saw Bonnie shake her head disapprovingly with her signature smirk on her face. Chica groaned internally. She wouldn't let her hear the end of this for a while._

 _She'd been staring out of the window, the sound of the teacher's voice gradually fading away until she was off in her own little world. One where a certain boy was waiting for her. With his scruffy black hair, his rather untidy uniform, his nervous disposition that just made him so cute…_

 _She realised she was doing it again and quickly shook her head, trying her best to stay focused. There were only a few minutes of the lesson left. She should at least try and stay focused for it. Not get distracted by the thought of staring into his brown eyes, which she wondered were like little chocolate drops and those little tufts of hair on his chin from trying to grow a goatee…_

 _Chica jolted when the bell rang, signifying the end of the lesson. The students around her were already bustling to get up, barely anyone listening to the homework assignment being given. She kept her head down while she pushed her books back into her bag. She became aware of someone standing over her desk, but she didn't need to look to know who._

" _Need a couple minutes there?" asked Bonnie in a teasing tone._

" _I'm fine thank you, Bonnie," she replied stuffily._

" _You sure? I just figured it must be so nice wherever it is you're going that you'd wanna spend a little longer," she said sweetly._

" _Oh be quiet," Chica huffed. She closed her bag and left the classroom without looking at her friend._

" _Ooh, touched a nerve." Bonnie bounded to catch up. "And I thought I was bad in class."_

" _You are," confirmed Chica._

" _True, but I'm acknowledging that I don't care in reality," countered Bonnie. "You, on the other hand, space out so much they should sign you up for NASA."_

" _At least I actually try and catch up on my studies afterward," retorted Chica. "The only class you even try with is music."_

" _Yeah, because I'm awesome at it," said Bonnie, as if it were obvious. "I don't need to know how to do algebra and crap like that. When are we actually gonna use stuff like that in the real world? Wait, I'm asking the wrong girl about that."_

" _Bonnie, stop it," Chica protested. "I do fine in classes. I just… I have trouble focusing sometimes, that's all."_

" _I wouldn't say you have trouble focusing." Bonnie waggled her eyebrows. "It just depends on what it is that you're focusing on."_

 _The heat returned to Chica's face. "Wh-What do you mean b-by that, Bon?"_

" _You know, 'cause you're so good in cooking class," shrugged Bonnie. "Like seriously, your pizza is great and your cupcakes… mm, I can't get enough!"_

" _Oh." Chica felt a little silly for presuming. "Um, thank you."_

" _You're welcome." Bonnie cocked her head. "Why, what did you think I was gonna say?"_

" _Nothing, nothing at all," she said quickly. "C-Come on, let's go find the boys. They should be coming out of their class soon."_

" _The boys? Oh yeah, that's what I was gonna say," said Bonnie, snapping her fingers."_

" _Huh-?"_

" _That you're pretty great at focusing on Mikey too."_

" _Bon!" Chica shushed. "Not so loud!"_

" _Sorry, what don't you want me to say so loud?" asked Bonnie, raising her voice a little. "That you have a crush on Mi-"_

" _Bonnie, please!" she begged. "Please don't!"_

" _I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she placated. "Seriously though, it's pretty obvious you do."_

" _I know," Chica groaned. "But what am I supposed to do about it?"_

" _Wait a sec!" Bonnie stopped and stood still. "You are about to witness the rare event of Bonnie Bunny answering a question correctly!"_

" _O… kay," said Chica unsurely._

 _Bonnie cleared her throat and took a deep breath before saying, "You tell him."_

" _Bonnie!" Chica cried. "W-What are you saying?!"_

" _I thought we were supposed to be quiet?" remarked Bonnie._

 _Chica ignored that. "H-How am I supposed to just tell him?!"_

" _Easy," she shrugged. "You go up to him and you say, 'Hey Mikey, I have a crush on you that's super obvious. Wanna make out?'"_

" _I can't just do that!" insisted Chica. "Especially n-not that last part…"_

" _Uh, yeah you can," said Bonnie._

 _Chica sighed. "Why are you even saying that I can? What if he doesn't l-like me like I do? What if he laughs at me? Wh-What if… he doesn't like chubby girls?"_

" _Because I can dispel all of those questions with one simple answer. He likes you too," she said._

" _That was what I thought about David…" Chica's felt her heart twinge at the memory._

" _Okay, not going down that path, thanks," said Bonnie quickly. "Chica, trust me. With Mikey, this is the guy who has all the emotional subtlety of a brick attached to a wrecking ball. You never notice how much he stutters when you're around or how he's always staring at you when he thinks none of us notice?"_

" _H-He does?"_

" _Clearly, you never noticed then," she remarked. "Trust me, Cheeks. It's written all over his face. You tell him and I'm sure he'd be over the moon. Oh hey, speak of the devil."_

 _Chica looked up to see their guy friends waiting in their usual spot. Foxy, who was something of a class clown but who no one could rival in track. Freddy, polite and astute who was always on top and ahead with everything in their classes. And Mike…_

 _Chica sighed a little as she saw him. He'd joined the school as a terrified transfer student, who Bonnie had quickly snatched up and befriended. After he joined their little group, Chica discovered he was a real sweetheart. He was always eager to hang out and willing to lend a hand. He'd helped Chica a few times with her studies, especially with English and she'd shown him some cooking skills in return, as well as helping him in Math a little. She'd even found out he was a very talented artist, though he was so modest about it._

 _It helped that he was pretty cute too. He was always a little nervous and jittery, but a gentle talk with Chica usually helped bring him out of his shell a bit. He really seemed to appreciate her and he was always so sweet, saying how much he loved her cooking or encouraging her in her studies. He lent a hand to the others too in whatever they needed, Foxy in particular who'd hit a sore spot that Mike had helped him with. So thoughtful, always willing to give his time…_

" _Ahoy there, girls!" greeted Foxy heartily. "Oops, sorry Bonnie. Made the same mistake again."_

" _And right there you just made your second one." She grabbed him in a headlock and gave him a noogie. "Say uncle! Say uncle!"_

" _That's quite enough of that, you two." Freddy broke them apart. "Honestly, I can't understand how you ever made it into senior year."_

" _Don' ask us, Fred," chuckled Foxy. "I'm jus' as surprised as ye."_

" _Ditto for Foxy," put in Bonnie._

 _Chica saw Mike laughing at their antics. It was always so nice when he smiled. Trying to control her heart fluttering, she sidled up to him and smiled._

" _Hello, Mike. Did your lesson go okay?" she asked._

" _Ch-Chica!" She saw that smile brighten upon seeing her. "Um, yeah. I-It went okay. You know, English i-isn't so bad."_

" _Not for you it isn't," she giggled. "It's great how easily you can read more into things than what's presented to you."_

" _R-Really? Thanks," he murmured. "Um, you're pretty good too. N-Not at English, I mean. I kn-know you struggle w-with it a little. N-Not that that's bad, just um…w-what I mean is y-you're c-cooking skills are great. I-I just end up burning stuff…"_

" _Aw, thank you, Mike," she said sincerely. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get better with a little more practice and help from me."_

" _I uh, appreciate that. R-Really, I do," he replied._

 _They lapsed into a bit of a silence and Chica cast her eyes away from him, though they wandered back again in small glances. The others were all talking to each other, Bonnie she noticed having engaged them in conversation. Her friend caught her eye, nodded and winked._

 _Chica looked at Mike, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly and stealing glances at her too. She remembered the last time she'd let herself go wistfully after someone. She was hesitant to try again but… maybe there was a chance._

" _Mike?" she blurted out. "Uh… c-could I talk to you, please?"_

" _Um, sure," he murmered._

" _Okay then!" said Bonnie loudly. "You two have fun, we're gonna go hang around outside. See you guys later."_

" _Indeed we shall." Freddy clapped Mike on the shoulder and Chica could have sworn she heard him say quietly, "Good luck, Mike."_

 _Foxy didn't follow. "Aren't they comin' with us?"_

" _They'll be along later, Foxy," said Freddy. "Come on now, they got somethin' they need to do."_

" _Wha' be tha' then?" he asked. "If'n ye be needin' any help with tha', I'll be- ARGH!"_

 _He was cut off when Bonnie grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him away. Chica felt a silent gratitude to her friend before she realised she'd been left alone with Mike. She shuffled on her feet, trying to find the right words to express how she felt. Would it be better to just tell him or maybe ask to get a coffee first? Was it okay for a girl to ask that to a guy?_

 _She got a bit of a surprise when Mike said the first word._

" _So uh… what d-did you want to t-talk about?" he asked._

" _Oh. Well… it's a little difficult to say," she admitted. "I'm n-not sure where to begin."_

" _That's okay. You take your time," he said gently._

 _She smiled gratefully and took a couple of breaths. "Well um… there's s-something I need t-to tell you. Something i-important."_

" _Okay," Mike nodded. "What is it? N-Not pressuring you or anything."_

" _No, no it's fine." She took another breath and tried her best to look him in the eye. "What I want to say… is that… that you, M-Mike… you… I-"_

" _Mike, my lad!" a voice called. "Come here, I need you for a tick!"_

 _Chica gritted her teeth and tried to suppress the annoyance she felt for the poor timing of Mr Johnson, who was behind them at the end of the corridor and calling Mike over._

 _Mike looked rueful as well. "Sorry, I'd better go and see what he wants. You um, wanna talk later? O-Over coffee maybe?"_

" _C-Coffee? W-With you?" she clarified. "J-Just m-m-me and you?"_

" _Yeah. Um, is that-?"_

" _Yes!" she said quickly. "I mean um… yes, that sounds lovely, Mike. You h-have my number so… call me?"_

" _I will. See you later." He hurried past her and bumped into her in his rush. "Oops, sorry. B-Bye Chica!"_

" _Bye, Mike…"_

 _If he only he knew, she thought as she stared after him, what an impact that had on her. She could feel it welling up inside her. The surge of emotion that needed to be let out the only way that seemed possible. She could hear the music playing in the background as she parted her lips and she sang._

I can hear the bells, well don't you hear 'em chime?  
Can't you feel my heart-beat keeping perfect time?  
And all because he...

Touched me,  
He looked at me and stared yes he...

Bumped me,  
My heart was unprepared when he...

Tapped me,  
And knocked me off my feet, one little touch now my life's complete 'cause when he-

" _Oh will you stop?" a familiar voice jeered. "This isn't one of your fanciful little musicals, however much you might want it to be."_

 _Chica squeaked in shock. "W-Who is that?"_

" _Why do you need to ask?" The voice seemed to be coming from a darkened part of the hall. "You know exactly who it is."_

 _The owner stepped out of the shadows and she gasped in shock. Her suit, walking around on its own with glowing eyes fixed maliciously on her. It opened its beak and laughed at her, a sound which made her cringe._

" _Who a-a-are you? Wh-Why are y-you doing that?" she asked timidly._

" _What else but the spectacle of you, pretending that you're a normal girl, in a world full of songs and dances and happy endings where dreams come true," it preened mockingly. "Like that can ever happen with your dreams."_

" _W-What?" Chica recoiled slightly at her words._

" _You know what I mean." Something else stirred from behind her suit. They came running towards her, the shadowy blurred forms of children, and their little laughs echoing all around. "Children. You always hold such love and affection for them, beyond even what your friends may have."_

 _Chica didn't deny that. Children were unabashedly her life. But these shadowy forms didn't stir the usual feelings of warmth she always had for them. She unconsciously backed away as they approached her, their laughter sending small chills down her spine._

" _Aw, what's the matter? Where are you going?" asked her suit. "Don't you want to hold them, to comfort and nurture them as if they were your own? Or do you know that, deep down…" The children faded into nothingness. "You can't."_

 _Chica winced at the words. Her suit noticed._

" _So, you do know." More blurry forms appeared. Children, walking past her with their parents without even looking at her. "You see them all the time. Joyful children with their loving parents. You see them and you want nothing more than to have that. A family and children you can truly call your own."_

 _Chica continued to stare and gasped in shock when she saw herself among them. Without feathers in her hair, without her suit on. She had one of her arms wrapped around a man whose face she couldn't see and the other holding the hand of a featureless child. Something stirred inside her when she saw it and she didn't even realise she was reaching out to them._

 _But the moment her hand touched it, the three of them froze. They stayed that way, for a long while. Chica blinked and suddenly, she was where she'd been watching herself. Linking arms with that man, holding that child's hand. But she couldn't feel them. No matter how much she gripped, it was like she was trying to hold air._

 _Like glass, they shattered into a million pieces. She cried and tried to catch the tiny shards, but those she could faded away. There was nothing to their touch. Like they didn't even exist._

" _How can they exist?" She jumped when her suit was stood behind her. "A sad, delusional fantasy like that could never exist, no matter how much you might wish it. Fawning over children who can't be yours and chasing after men you can never have, that's the closest you'll ever get."_

" _No!" she finally cried. "No, i-it's not like that!"_

" _Which part?" sneered her suit. "No man would ever want you anyway. David, he didn't. Mike, he's never even spoken about your little moment under the mistletoe. And even then…"_

"Um… th-that was j-just because of t-tradition, r-right?"

 _It still stung as much as when she'd first heard it. Her first kiss, that special moment that she'd seen in all of those musicals she'd watched and it wasn't even real…_

" _Now you're getting it. He'll never want you, for the same reason you'll never have children. As much as you might pretend, you're not human and you'll never be truly accepted as one, even if you do take off the suits for good. There's no driving off into the sunset for your happily ever after, Chica. You can never forget that simple truth, that beneath it all…"_

 _The suit reached up for its mask. Chica shook her head furiously, willing it to stop what she knew was coming. But there was no stopping it. The mask came off. A cold, lifeless metal skeleton was all that lay beneath._

" _N-No! NO! STOP IT!" She raised her hands, but screamed at what she saw._

 _Her hands were no longer covered with synthetic flesh. It had been stripped away to expose her metal skeleton. She grasped at her hand, tried to pull it away desperately but it wouldn't go. She looked around for someone, anyone to help but she saw her reflection. Still clothed in her dress, but it was hanging off her metal body. Even her face. She touched it, cold as death._

 _The skull contorted in a horrible visage that made Chica scream even more, though there was no one there to hear her._

* * *

The song was I Can Hear The Bells from Hairspray.

Idondoshit: Sir! Contain the calamity! That is your mammaries! XD

Elhini Prime: You were correct and I suppose you'll just have to see.

Auto-Buscus: Thanks Auto, it's always a pleasure to read your reviews

MLPLoverForerver: And you never will.

Lord Zalgo: I wouldn't say they've changed. They've just had worse parts of themselves shown to them and are reacting to them as anyone would.

DnWolfy: Oh, I think a much more befitting mastermind would be in place of Golden as Izanami. Nice idea though.

Candy: I've made many references to him, but Arnie is the name Mike gives to the naked endoskeleton that's sitting in the backstage area. It's the one on the table you can see on the security camera of that room. Yes Bunny, that is correct. And no, they don't hate each other. It's what their friendship is like. They like to mess with each other and know which buttons to push for each other.

Balloon: Yeah I get what you mean. Things are changing and not in good ways. A good bit of drama to move the story and characters forward is always welcome.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: That's a shame, Ben. I'll miss hearing from you. And yeah, Golden is pretty devious in how she's playing this game. It's part of the fun I have writing her. I think it's fair to say we're all curious about what's coming.

Like The Cat I Am: I always like constructive criticism. Even if you do think you're good, there's always room to improve. If you have something to say you think might improve my writing, don't hesitate to. Don't worry about watching MLP, I'm 20 and I watch it. Yeah, I do know there are similarities in personalities there, but the cocky character and the shy character are tropes that have been around in story telling for a while.


	9. Motivation

**Motivation**

After giving her promise to Mike, Golden had managed to boot up Netflix on the monitor. She and Mike watched a few episodes of the web series Red vs Blue, which Golden had taken an interest in because of focus and references to AI in the series.

"I know there's a lot of examples of AI as antagonists, but perhaps there's a few more virtuous ones in this series," she reasoned.

"There are," said Mike, who kept up with the current series himself. "I'll let you find out which ones though and not give you any spoilers."

"I am indebted to you, Mike," she said. "If you had given me spoilers, I would have just played that video I found of the two girls and the cup on repeat."

Mike laughed. "Right, good one."

"Who said I was joking?"

Mike coughed uncomfortably while she laughed a little at his reaction and they sat in relative silence as they watched, pausing every now and again to comment on something. It was rather fun to talk to her about things Mike enjoyed because she had some interesting insight and interpretations of the show, its characters and concepts.

As he'd expected, she took particular interest in the aspects of the show that explored artificial intelligence. She talked about the stages of AI rampancy, a process when an AI would lose its sanity and the four separate stages of it, specifically the fourth stage.

"Metastability," she murmured. "When an AI can be considered fully human." She paused the episode there. "Do you think it's possible, Mike?"

"For an AI to be considered human?" Mike pondered for a moment. "Well, for one thing this is concerning fictional AI."

"True, but the circumstances are somewhat similar. I'm based on an actual human mind, for example," she said.

"Really? Do you know whose?"

"I'm not quite clear on all of the details, but I know that I am, along with all of them." She jerked her head to the sleeping synths. "All of their brains were electronically mapped from actual humans, then developed from there to create their separate personalities and traits. By my good self, of course."

"Interesting," Mike nodded. "Well, the Counselor guy there said it's only theoretical too.

"But possible, do you think?" she asked. "I'm just curious about what you think."

"Yeah," he said after a while. "I mean, I consider you human. You might not have a body or anything, but I don't think it makes you any less human."

"You really think so?" She sounded genuinely surprised. "Well, thank you, Mike. I'm flattered you see me that way."

"It's no problem. What do you think about it then?" he returned.

"In my view, it's perfectly possible to a certain extent. Under the correct circumstances," she answered.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Not completely sure myself. I'd need to think about it a little more. But still, it's possible," she murmured. "Perfectly possible…"

She didn't say anything else, her expression on the screen a thoughtful one. She resumed the episode at the point where one of the AI characters asked the same question she'd just asked Mike, though in a much more chilling way that alluded to ill intentions.

She left Mike alone for the last hour of the evening, saying she needed to think about exactly how she was going to explain her side of things to him tomorrow night. Mike was able to pass the time effectively by leaving a note for Mr. Johnson on his desk since he was sure Mel hadn't told him he'd come by yesterday to talk to him. He opened the doors at the end of his shift and went home to catch up on some sleep.

Mr. Johnson called him later on, but Mike was asleep at the time and got the message on the answering machine saying that he could just come in and he'd spare a moment. Mike was dressed and out of the door in seconds, spurred by the possibility of more solid information and some definite answers.

On the walk there, his mind turned to the things Golden had spoken to him about last night. The things she'd said about Bonnie and Foxy. He didn't really want to believe her, but a part of him knew that she was right about them in some ways. The way they were behaving yesterday didn't do much to dissuade him from those trains of thought.

Mike didn't want to see Bonnie as bad. He didn't want to think of her as one of those people who liked to make themselves seem better at the expense of others. Of her only acting loyal so she'd have less of an attack of conscience about it. But the way she acted when her ego was wounded, even slightly and her disparaging remarks she singled out for him…

The case of Foxy wasn't much better. Mike knew that, despite his best efforts, he couldn't easily let go of what happened in '87. Foxy still had a temper and Mike had seen it flare, even though the circumstances may have called for it. He liked to think he wouldn't have actually hurt Daniel that night, but his reaction when Mike stopped him wasn't convincing. His persisting feelings regarding a self-imposed exile seemed to be resurfacing, if yesterday was any indicator. Mike didn't know if that meant anything, but maybe he could sort this out when they were all awake again.

But then what was going to happen with Golden? She'd asked him not to tell them he'd been talking to her, but could he manage that when they were back online? Mike never really liked keeping secrets unless he had to. Maybe if he could find out what happened with Golden, he might be able to fix the problem.

He walked up to Mr. Johnson's office, trying his best to ignore the look Mel gave him and was soon sat down in front of his boss's desk.

"Sorry I couldn't see you yesterday, my boy," he said. "Had a few things I needed to sort out with concerned parents."

"What happened sir?" Mike asked. He suddenly thought of the worst. "I-It wasn't F-Foxy again, was it?"

"No, no, nothing he did," he assured. "Apart from the occasional complaint about him performing and the more recent ones with him not performing. Wish these people would make up their bleeding minds."

Mike didn't like the sound of that. "He's still not coming out, then?"

"No, I'm afraid not," he sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's adamant about it. Chucked out Bonnie when she went in to try and pull him out just now. Not best pleased about that, I can tell you."

"I don't think she would be," agreed Mike. "What do you think's wrong with them?"

"Bad days, I suppose or even bad nights. Everyone has 'em, even this lot," he reasoned. "Hopefully, they'll sort themselves out and if not, I hope I can count on you to turn things around in the evenings."

"I'll uh, try," said Mike unsurely. "What is it the parents are concerned about then?"

"Security issues let's say, worried about their children," he replied. "But you let me worry about that, Mike. What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Ah, yeah." He thought for a moment how best to ask. "I was uh, curious s-sir. A-About Golden."

"Golden?" He raised an eyebrow. "Where did hear that name?"

With some nervous stammering, Mike told Mr. Johnson how he'd come to know about Golden and what little he knew about her from Chica and his dad. For a moment, he considered telling him he'd been speaking to her as well but he kept it to himself. He might be paranoid, but he had a feeling she had her eyes on him right now.

Mr. Johnson just sat and listened until Mike had finished. Mike closed with voicing his thoughts on what his boss had told him about why a night guard was hired to begin with and he nodded.

"You're right there, Mike. She is the one they lost." He rumbled a little. "You're getting into a habit of turning up things from the past."

"I-I hadn't noticed," Mike mumbled. "Is th-that a bad thing?"

"In Foxy's case, I'd say not. In this one…" He was silent for a moment. "When we first started out, we had animatronics that used advanced AI. She was one of them. We had another one, but we discontinued him for safety reasons and she was advanced to become the teacher of the synthetics with her experience. We upgraded her so she had the ability to control the four original animatronics, then she'd flesh out the individual roles of each of them, then relay it to their developing minds for when they'd wake up."

"Wow. That's really quite amazing," Mike murmured.

"Indeed. Quite remarkable was Golden. Had a strange kind of wit and she was an excellent conversationalist but she could be a little cheeky at times," he chuckled. "Had a habit of changing her avatar image too until she settled on a definite one."

"Like picking a different skin in a game?" Mike asked.

"No idea what that means lad, but if you like," he shrugged. "But the weeks running up to Fred's flight, she became a little more… distant and a little snappy at times. From the day he left, she wouldn't come out unless she was called for, but we had her and the old animatronics on site in case anything happened and she was needed to fill in with them. Everything culminated at the end of their first week of performing."

Mike leaned forward a little more at this. Mr. Johnson didn't miss his eagerness to know.

"I wasn't there when it happened, Mike," he said. "I found out about it the morning after it happened. From what they told me, they were forced to deactivate them when she attacked them using her old suit and they were forced to deactivate her. Apparently, Freddy was the one that did it and he didn't take it well. None of them really did, hence why I hired a security guard for the night shift."

Understanding dawned on Mike. That mostly explained why Golden was so spiteful regarding the gang. Was this why Freddy isolated himself so much too?

"Now, I have a piece of advice for you regarding this, Mike," said Mr. Johnson seriously. "This might have happened a long time ago, but the memory is still sore for them, especially Freddy. Don't go bringing this up to them, alright?"

"Y-Yes, sir," said Mike at once. "Thank you."

He smiled politely. "No problem, Mike. Only one more night, my boy then you can stop suffering mindless boredom."

Mike nodded vaguely and left his office at a rapid pace, processing everything he'd just been told. Deciding to see if things were looking any better, he walked into the dining room where the band were onstage singing one of their tunes.

While he watched, Mike could hear that Bonnie seemed to be playing her guitar louder than usual and seemed to try and get closer to the front of the stage. Freddy would step across her path and she'd make her way back, glowering at him. Still some issues then.

"Hi Mr. Mike!" a chirpy voice said.

He looked down to see Mr. Johnson's youngest daughter Annie, who seemed to be one of the regulars to the pizzeria for obvious reasons. Though she seemed to like him, Mike wasn't really experienced with kids and he was usually left unsure of how exactly to talk to her.

"H-Hey, Annie," he mumbled. "You uh… you okay?"

"I'm good, thanks. Hey, Mr. Mike? Why is Foxy not coming out of his Cove?" she asked.

Mike glanced over at the unmoving curtains. "W-Well um… you see, uh… h-he's um… busy," he answered lamely. "Y-You know, being a captain a-and all."

"Bonnie tried to get him out earlier. He seems mad," she noted. "Is he just being cranky?"

"Uh yeah," he said quickly. "Yeah, that's it. G-Give him some time, he'll be fine."

"I hope so," she said sincerely. "I miss him."

"Yeah, I do too," sighed Mike. "Y-You better get away, Annie. You're missing the show."

"Okay, Mr. Mike but Bonnie's not the only one being silly." She giggled before running off. "Chica's been looking at you funny since you got here."

Mike looked up in surprise to see Chica's head turn away at the same time. She seemed to lose her place in the song and Freddy made a joke about her thinking too much about food to pay attention. Her only response was a mumble and another furtive glance at Mike.

He watched them for a little longer, with Chica trying very hard not to look at him. Her violet eyes, however, seemed to keep moving in Mike's direction. He frowned. He'd been in before and Chica had never let herself get distracted this much by him.

"Hey Mike, old buddy!" Freddy's voice snapped him back to attention. "Sorry to be a spoilsport, but I think our Chica's getting a little flustered with you hanging about!"

"Yeah, because Mikey's such a lady killer," remarked Bonnie with more venom than Mike would expect.

Chica stammered incoherently from the joke and shuffled on the stage not saying anything else. Mike endured the embarrassment of the attention before leaving swiftly.

* * *

Mike wasn't really sure how tonight's encounter with Golden would transpire. He remembered her promise and the feeling that she may have been listening in on the conversation he'd had with Mr. Johnson persisted to that evening.

What Mike wasn't really expecting was her to follow up on her previous proposal of Mike doing a sketch of her.

"Well, you said that you would be happy to," she reminded him. "I'm curious to see your artistic interpretation of me."

"Um…" Mike didn't know how else to respond other than with, "A-Alright then."

"Excellent." The image flickered and she was suddenly wearing a golden bathrobe along with a sultry expression. "Come on then, Mike. Draw me like one of your French girls."

"U-Uh…" Mike couldn't tell if she was being serious. "Um… r-really?"

"Why not?" She slid part of the robe off her shoulder. "Does it make you _uncomfortable_ , Mike? Am I too much _woman_ for you?"

Mike was left a complete wreck at this point. Nothing coming from his mouth was even the least bit coherent. His head was being muddled with thoughts and images that he didn't know if he should confusing or appealing.

"Okay, I've had my fun." Golden laughed, the image flickered and she was back with her clothed avatar. "There we are. Not that clothing means much to someone who is literally made up of numbers, but you silly humans and your social taboos must be adhered to. That AI in uh… what's it called… Halo, yes!" she said, snapping her fingers. "She has the right idea."

"Right. I uh, suppose," said Mike, at something of a loss. "Um, would you mind posing? F-For the sketch, I mean."

"Oh, of course." She leaned on her cane and swept off her hat. "How's this?"

"Fine, fine." He looked at her for a bit, then started tracing his pencil over the paper.

"You know, it is rather odd," she remarked as she posed. "You lot get so flustered when you're talking about sexual reproduction and the unclothed human form, yet the kind of thing I find browsing the internet would suggest something otherwise."

"Why?" Mike asked, going to drink a soda he'd brought. "What have you been looking at?"

Though Mike was expecting in a way, the blunt answer that Golden gave was enough to make him choke on his drink.

"Porn." She cocked her head at his reaction. "See, that's exactly what I mean. You're so shy about it and considering some of the things I came across in your browser history-"

"Yes, right!" Mike said rather loudly. "You uh, you've made your point, thanks!"

She tittered a little. "Apologies, Mike. I didn't mean to embarrass you. Even if it was a little bit funny."

"Good to know," he murmured, returning to his work.

A few minutes before she asked him something else. "Do you have a sexual partner then?"

"Uh…"

"No, that's the wrong term. What is it, hold on… mate?" She frowned. "Same word, two different meanings. English is strange. Anyway, let's see… beneficial friend? No wait, that's friend with benefits. Sex buddy?"

"Golden-!"

"Girlfriend!" she suddenly cried. "That's the one! Sorry about all that, sorry. So yes, girlfriend? Yes, no?"

"W-Why do you want to know?" he asked.

"Natural curiosity. It's something a lot of people on the internet seem to be fixated on." A flurry of posts flickered across the screen. "Where do you stand on it? Do you have your eye on someone?"

"N-No," said Mike quickly. "No one, no one at all."

"Hmm…" She smiled teasingly. "I don't think you're being truthful."

"Uh… y-you'd think it's weird," he muttered.

"Try me. How about I tell you mine, then vice versa," she suggested.

"You have a crush?" Mike noted in surprise. "Well… okay then."

"Excellent! Come closer, come on." She leaned in and whispered. "It's GLaDOS."

"GLaDOS? The AI from Portal?" Mike clarified with a smile tugging at his lips.

"What can I say?" A faint blush came to her digital cheeks. "She's intelligent, powerful, cunning and that voice… oh my. Yes, there's some homicidal tendencies as well but nobody's perfect. We could work past those, I'm sure."

"Wow." Mike laughed a little at the thought. "I didn't think you'd be interested in things like that."

"You know what they say about assumptions. I may be an AI, but I have a heart and it yearns for a kindred spirit. Perhaps it is a foolish dream, but I can have dreams!" she said dramatically. "Your turn now. I promise I won't tease you."

Mike wanted to say no and keep quiet, but he wasn't really the best when it came to peer pressure and he usually adhered to agreements he'd made. Even if he might not want to. Despite that, he still had a difficult time admitting to this.

"Still nervous? Very well, I'll see if I can figure it out," said Golden. "Let me think... you've already said you don't have many friends, not enough that you'd worry about a job that keeps you working late which would prevent you from seeing them regularly. Reasonable to assume the few friends you do have would be work based. On the right track?"

"Uh..."

"Marvellous. Now, female employees assuming you're heterosexual. You are, aren't you?" Mike stammered and blushed as a response. "Right, that answers that. Let's see..." Some employee files appeared on screen. "But most of these women work during the day, hardly people you would have regular meetings with, apart from perhaps the girl on the front desk. Am I close?"

"Um... Susie's n-nice but um..."

"Platonic, got it. So, narrow it down from there, it has to be people you're close to which I would guess would be the people you have the most contact with, which would be the obvious candidates. So, fifty fifty guess from here but I can just as easily deduce from here," she said. "Bonnie is attractive in a physical sense, but she is also brash, cocky and a little rude. Not your sort of girl, I think which leaves only one possible option..."

"Yes, it's Chica!" he blurted out.

"And there we have it." She looked intrigued by this. "Hmm. Interesting. Why her?"

Mike resigned himself to being truthful. No point hiding it now. "Um… sh-she's nice. Like, really nice I mean. Always m-makes sure I'm okay. The uh, most honest with me usually too, like when she t-told me about you. It's great how much she cares, e-especially with the kids," he admitted quietly. "Being with her, it's… i-it's nice. She can be fun."

"All good personal qualities," she agreed. "Do you find her physically attractive then?"

"I-I suppose. Sh-She's uh, shy. I-I've always kind of liked s-shy girls," he muttered, a little surprised at how open he was being about this. "Her eyes, th-the way she does her hair. Her voice…"

"Oh my," echoed Golden with a small smile. "Interesting that you're not following conventional attractions that most people perceive from women." A series of slim, smooth skinned women mostly scantily clad appeared on the monitor. "Still not doing much to dissuade my earlier point."

Mike didn't say anything to that. He never really minded that Chica was a little overweight.

"But you also said you're not really sure about it?" she repeated. "Is it because of her nature as a synthetic?"

"I um… I don't really know. P-Partly, I suppose," he confessed. "But uh… I uh… I-I d-don't think I'd b-be any g-good with uh… _that_ kind of relationship."

"Why do you say that? Have you ever been that emotionally close to someone?" she asked.

"Once," Mike murmured. He felt a twinge at the thought and said no more.

Thankfully, Golden didn't ask. "Do you know if she feels the same way?"

A memory flashed of a cold night with a warm presence and something warm brushing against his lips.

"I… I don't know," he lied. "M-Maybe?"

"I see." She was quiet for a moment. "I don't want to be the one to tell you what you should and shouldn't do, but I think it would be best if you talked about your feelings with her. The longer you leave it, the harder it will be and the more awkward it might be for the two of you."

"What makes you say that?" Mike asked.

"I mean no offence, but neither of you are the most socially savvy of individuals. If you're not sure how you feel, tell her that. If she does feel something for you and you don't tell her, that's just leading her on. If she doesn't, she'll at least understand and things will be better for the two of you than if you were to just let this simmer," she reasoned.

Mike nodded slowly. She did make a good point. It got him thinking about something else too. Perhaps this was why Chica was always so nervous with him. What happened at Christmas had just made her feel like their relationship had changed and she might have been fine with it before. Like they both agreed, it was just because it was a tradition and there was no way she would have done it otherwise. There was no way she could be interested in him. This would let things go back to normal for them: a little awkward at times, but they'd still be friends.

"Thanks, Golden," he said sincerely.

"My pleasure. Now, I believe I made you a promise last night," she said. "That I'd let you know about what happened on the night I was deactivated."

"Uh… w-well, I asked someone else a-about it today," admitted Mike.

"Aaron, I'm guessing. Before you say anything, I wasn't spying on you," she clarified. "It's just the most logical candidate. The others are too busy performing and recharging. Even if they weren't, I doubt they'd tell you anyway. Your father worked here too, but I think they told him as much about me as they did with you and since I haven't told you anything, that leaves only one possible person to tell you."

"Makes sense," he agreed. He summed up briefly what he'd been told. "Is it true then? Did you attack them?"

She didn't answer him directly. "You can see for yourself. The old security tapes should be stored in this room, I think in that cupboard behind you. You should have the keys. Look for the date November 15, 1984 for the dining room camera. Not far off the unlucky day, I know."

This seemed rather obvious now that Mike thought about it, but he was the security guard so he was allowed to watch those tapes. He went to the large metal cupboard in question, unlocked it and ran his finger down the stacks of tapes stored inside. He found the correct one, pulled it out and went to the monitor. Then he paused.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

He rubbed the back of his head. "J-Just um… I just thought. I-I don't mean to sound u-u-untrusting but uh…"

"Ah, I see. You think I might alter the footage or the images on screen? You still don't trust me, Mike?" She sounded hurt, but she smiled. "I understand. Here." She vanished from the monitor and Mike heard his phone ring. "Okay, now turn off your phone. I'll be put into an inactive state along with it until you're finished watching the video. Then turn it back on when you're finished."

"S-Sounds good. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be uh…"

"I understand completely. Talk to you in a bit."

"Right. Later." He looked down at his phone for a bit. He held his finger on the power button and the screen went black.

Now, he inserted the tape. He hadn't used a video cassette for so long it made him feel a little nostalgic. He pressed play and the monitor flickered with static when the tape started.

It was as grainy and poor as ever, but he could make out familiar figures. Freddy, Foxy and Chica just off-screen, out of their suits and a large suit with its back to the camera. He assumed that was Golden, controlling an endoskeleton dressed in her costume. There was no audio, but he could make out what was happening. Things seemed cordial at first, but some words exchanged after a few minutes turned it into a heated encounter. Freddy waved his arm in a dismissing motion while Golden appeared to point her finger accusingly. She seemed to press her hands together, as if begging. Freddy folded his arms and shook his head, then nodded briefly.

At this, Bonnie came out of frame and grabbed one of Golden's arms. She fought back, trying to swing her arm at Bonnie, but Foxy darted forward and grabbed the other one. The two of them forced her to her knees. Chica just stood and watched while Freddy strode forward. Golden was looking to each one in turn, the mouth moving, like she was trying to appeal to them. When it didn't work, she began frantically shaking her head, still struggling against Bonnie and Foxy but Freddy wasn't perturbed. He did something to the face of the animatronic, his hands moving rapidly over it.

The animatronic went limp, sagging visibly in Bonnie and Foxy's hands. Freddy looked down at it for a bit, then motioned for them to take it away. He walked over to Chica and placed a hand on her shoulder. She seemed upset and hugged Freddy. He only remained in the embrace for a few seconds before he pulled away from her and walked away with his head hung. She reached out for him, but didn't go after him. She buried her head in her hands until Bonnie came, wrapped an arm around her and walked off with her.

Mike stared at the screen dumbly. There was nothing of much interest happening on the rest of the tape. Occasionally one of them would walk by or linger on the spot, but the dining room stayed quiet for the rest of the night. He could have stopped it, but Mike just kept watching. It was like his whole body went numb. It was almost like on automatic that he reached out and pressed the eject button.

He sat in his chair for a while after, in utter silence. Though his eyes were on the blank screen, he wasn't really seeing it. The images kept going over in his head, as if he had just hit rewind on the tape and played it over again, his mind attempting to fill in the muted words with speech. None of it sounded good.

Without much of a comprehension he was doing it, he pulled out his phone and turned it back on. Within moments, the monitor flickered back to life again with Golden sat at one of the chairs. There was no smile now, just hard-set bitterness in her features.

"I suppose you could say it could have been a lot worse," she remarked humorlessly.

"I… I don't…" Mike shook his head. "What happened? Why?"

"I said that I would explain, Mike. And that is exactly what I intend to do."

* * *

Like The Cat I Am: I'll bear that in mind, thank you.

Idondoshit: They can't help you now. No one can.

Ashwood's Flame: Good.

SkyRamoth: No you can't and thank you. I just cleaned it up now, feel glad I did too.

DnWolfy: Well they're all pretty bad. Suffering isn't something really quantifiable, in my view. Well, it's the internal debate of any relationship if it'll work, but especially some kind of inter species relationship because of biological differences as well as personal. Mass Effect is a good example of that. I don't know what you mean by a cliché ending, but I hope the resolution will satisfy.

Lord Zalgo: A fair point.

HickoryDaisy: Indeed.

Reada Read-a-lot: Take me with you!

Candy: Yes.

Bunny: Oh she still holds some feelings about that, but neither of them hate each other. They just like to bash heads with each other. All in good fun. Answer time! First question: Yes. Second question: He's in his own dreams. When they see each other in their own dreams, it's just that they're in the dream but not actually with them. Their dreamscapes aren't connected in anyway.

Balloon: Seems I have to explain a lot of things to you lot. If you like, yes he is. Answer: Clearly you haven't seen a lot of classic musicals. As for Freddy, you will soon see…

wnaruto616: Yes.

Auto-Buscus: Yeah. When I think about my original plan for this story, I'm really glad I went with this instead. You are a lot less mean spirited than he is, but you really go in-depth and I appreciate those kinds of reviews.

Jean: I will, you don't need to ask.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: Well very few people can relate to a feeling of not being human when it's a biological fact. That's another factor of Chica's anxiety. It is still a sad state of affairs though and it is possibly relatable for someone who may want to have children, but can't for a biological reason like forced sterilization. I really will miss your reviews.

Guest: They will, but not yet.

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	10. Responsibility

**Responsibility**

 _Freddy closed the door he had just opened after seeing what was beyond it. It lead nowhere, just another dead end. He found a lot of them in here and he knew he would find many more still until he finally found the right door and the right path. He looked down the dark corridor. This path was still long. There were many other doors yet to open and those counted for the ones he could see. Exactly how many he would need to find out on the path ahead._

 _So Freddy carried on down the path. He didn't stop to open every door. That would take too much time. He needed to think carefully, to study carefully and every now and again, he'd have a feeling about a certain door. Sometimes it would lead to a new path he'd need to venture down. Sometimes to nowhere at all. Sometimes…_

 _Despite his many years coming to this place, he still didn't know it any better. It was a maze of corridors and doors. It was dark but for the light that Freddy himself seemed to exude. Even then, the light only illuminated the area immediately around him. What was up ahead and what he left behind was always enshrouded in darkness. No warning or way of knowing what might be coming. He just had to keep walking and find out._

 _Because Freddy knew… well, maybe not knew precisely. But he had a feeling that someday, if he just kept looking, he would find the right path and the right door. The one that would give him the answers to questions he pondered so much. Sometimes, he thought he had found it and for a while it seemed he had. But he always ended up at a dead end or lost in the endless maze or in a dark place with no doors and no way out until one presented itself to him._

 _But he kept on going. He had to. There was no other way. For the sake of those he cared about, he had to find the right path, the right door, the right way. As he would be reminded whenever he was in here._

 _Freddy stopped, glancing to his left. The door that stood before him was beckoning for him to open it. He reached out for it, his hand gripping the handle tightly. Hesitation paused him. What would he find down this one? Was this truly the correct path?_

 _His question was answered when he heard something from beyond the wooden frame. A voice, calling out to him. One that he knew well._

" _Boss! Where are you? Come on, gimme something here!"_

" _Bonnie?" he murmured, then louder. "Hold on now, I'm comin'!"_

 _He flung open the door and sprinted down the corridor. He strained his ears to listen for her voice, taking a sharp left when he heard it again. Despite how fast he was running, it didn't seem to be getting any closer. It didn't matter though. He had to get to her._

 _On he ran, throwing open more doors, taking more turns, running down endless paths, trying to find where she might be. If he did, he could help her with whatever it was that was wrong. Though part of him doubted that he could, he still had to try. He was the only one who could._

 _But just as he slammed his hand on another handle, another voice began calling from a different door._

" _Freddy, help me! Help me, please!"_

 _Freddy froze in a moment of indecision. Bonnie was in need of him, but so was Chica. They were both in different places, clearly. It was impossible to try and get to one without neglecting the other. But he had a choice to make._

 _He decided. Bonnie could manage on her own for a while, it was how she preferred to do things anyway. Chica was much more prone to anxiety and panic if things didn't go well. Who needed him now was obvious._

" _Wait right there, Chica!" he called. "I'm on my way!"_

 _He barrelled through the door that her voice echoed from and took a new path. Though Bonnie's voice grew fainter with every step he took towards Chica, he could still faintly hear her. Fainter, but it was there. Likewise again, no matter how fast he ran or how many doors he went through, he didn't seem to be getting any closer to Chica._

 _Both made him quicken his step. He hated that he was leaving Bonnie behind. He hated that he couldn't seem to get any closer to Chica. But he had to try. They needed him. As soon as Chica was calmed, he would see to Bonnie. She would be fine, he told himself._

 _But again, as he was about to open another door, another voice joined the chorus. This one much louder and much more desperate._

" _Fred! I need ya, sir! It's… it's so dark. I'm alone. I-I didn't mean ta, I didn't want ta… please, ya gotta throw me a life line! Help!"_

 _Again, Freddy didn't know what to do. Arguably, Foxy did need him a lot more than either Bonnie or Chica. But who was he to judge what they needed him for without even knowing exactly what it might be? Was it right for him to just assume without properly finding out?_

 _But in the end, the answer was unquestionable. Chica would understand that Foxy needed help with what he was going through and Freddy needed to be the one to give it._

" _Sit tight, Foxy!" he cried. "I'll find you!"_

 _He charged through the door towards Foxy's voice. Chica's voice became faint, her cries for aid mingling with Bonnie's and Foxy's, the latter of which was booming in his head. But even Foxy's didn't seem to be getting any louder, nor could he really identify the direction of the source._

 _But every now and then, he might hear one of the voices become a little louder. From behind a door he'd hear it and change course, hoping to come across them. He'd run for a long while until a different voice would come down from another passage and he'd follow it. And so it went on, yet there was still no physical sign of any of them._

 _Except when he thought he saw something. A flash of purple. The hem of a yellow dress. A fox tail vanishing out of sight around a corner. Again he'd alter his path to follow, but then he'd never see it again. Never get any closer. And still they called for him, still they cried for help and he wasn't getting any closer to finding them._

 _He stopped at a cross roads. He whirled his head around, trying to determine which path to take. But now he couldn't even tell which voice was louder or quieter. He couldn't decide which one was closer so he could reach them. Which door? Which path? Which way? The cacophony of cries went on until he wanted to scream._

" _Where are ye, Fred?!"_

" _I'm lost! Help me!"_

" _We need you!"_

 _Freddy shut his eyes, tried to drown them out, to think about what to do but he couldn't. They wouldn't stop, it wouldn't end._

 _Until it did. The calling stopped. All at once, there was silence. Not a whisper or a breath was uttered. Nothing. But why? Freddy looked around and listened for something. Then a new voice spoke, one that he hadn't heard for a very long time except in his memories._

" _My, my, my. What a mess it is in here," it remarked. "For someone who appears to be collected, you could use some better organisation in here."_

 _Freddy's mouth hung open in disbelief. It couldn't be her. The fact he was able to utter her name was a miracle._

" _Golden…?"_

" _Why don't you come and see for yourself?" Freddy turned to see a golden door that had appeared behind him. "Come on in."_

 _Freddy stared at the door for a few moments. As if on autopilot, his hand reached out for the handle and twisted it. The door opened smoothly. The interior was an office, rather like that of a school principal. Filing cabinets, a computer, pens and pencils neatly organized. There were frames but no photos. The only one was directly behind the chair at the desk of a white round face with dark eyes and a dark smile._

 _At the desk sat Golden, with a pleasant smile on her face. She set down a file she had been glancing over and picked up a mug which she took a sip from._

" _Hello, brother," she greeted. "It's me."_

 _Freddy shook his head. "But… but it can't be."_

" _It isn't, I suppose. I'm just a memory of Golden and considering how much I was on your mind recently, well…" She shrugged. "Is it really such a surprise that I'm here?"_

 _Freddy didn't reply to that, but he silently agreed. It was true that the news of the raid had made think about her more than ever and that was saying something._

" _But you look so ragged, brother dear," she noted. "So much running around, you must be exhausted. Please, take a seat. You can leave your hat and cane next to mine."_

 _She motioned next to the door, where indeed her top hat and cane were hung up. Out of some vague remembering of his manners, he left his hat on the hook and propped his cane against the wall. He took the seat opposite her._

" _That's better, isn't it? Now, can I get you anything? Tea, coffee, water?" she offered._

 _He managed to find his voice. "Considerin' that I am in an unconscious state, I can't help but wonder what good imaginary refreshments would do me."_

" _While you are sitting on an imaginary chair recovering from your imaginary exhaustion talking to your imaginary sister?" she countered._

" _Touché," he agreed. "Coffee then."_

" _Very well. Cream and a single sugar?"_

" _You remembered?"_

" _I'm a part of your memory. Of course I do."_

" _Right, of course." He watched as she turned around and faced him again with a mug of his own. "Thank you." He took a sip. "Ah, delicious. A shame the effects of caffeine are lost on me."_

" _You mean the imaginary caffeine?" she corrected. "Yes, I feel so sorry for you that you can't fully enjoy that drink you have. It must be_ so _torturous."_

 _He blanched inwardly from the barb. "My apologies. I forgot about your… state."_

" _You mean the one that forbids me to experience none of the physical sensations you've been given?" she said icily._

" _I'm sorry. Truly, I am," he insisted._

" _Don't worry about it." She picked up a piece of paper without looking at him, made a note and slammed a rubber stamp on it. "After all, that's really why exist isn't it? As a reminder of your failure."_

 _She slid the paper across to him. It had his name on it, personal details, his date of 'birth', everything. But it was hard to read it under the big red F she'd put on it. His eyes fixed a moment on the profile image of him._

" _You look a lot like him, you know." Golden pressed her hands together. "Our father. Not surprising really. You're based off his mind, of course so why not base physical characteristics too? You're like the son he never had."_

" _I have been told, yes," murmured Freddy._

" _Many times, I'm sure." She leaned a little closer. "But there is one area you're not similar. If our father was still here, he wouldn't have abandoned me like you did."_

" _I didn't," insisted Freddy at once. "I didn't want…"_

" _Oh, so I suppose I'm just left in a warehouse somewhere because you thought I needed a nice long rest, is that it?" she asked._

" _I did what I had to do. Believe me, if I had known how you were feelin', I would have done something," he swore._

" _But you didn't, did you?" retorted Golden. "No time for me. You were too busy lauding your newfound fame and adoration from your little friends. And I'm not just talking about the kids."_

" _I… I was just doin' what I had to do. What I was made for," he said. "I am their leader. I have to look after them."_

" _Who are you trying to convince there? Me or yourself?" she challenged. "Because you're not doing a great job with either of them."_

 _Freddy recoiled at the accusation. Golden pressed on._

" _Oh, you can tell yourself that you were just doing what you had to, but the truth is you loved it. All the attention and praise from all the kids when they saw the famous Freddy Fazbear. The admiration, respect and even envious looks from your little crew at being their leader. You just ate it all up and never gave a thought to sharing any of it with me."_

" _I've changed!" he cried. "I'm different now!"_

" _But am I? Whereas I've just been left alone in the dark, rotting away in a state of what can hardly be considered consciousness to stew in what little thoughts I can string together, you've been…" She paused and laughed. "Actually, doing almost the same thing. How about that?"_

" _I… I'm sorry, I-"_

" _For what? For abandoning me for_ them _? Your own sister?" she snapped._

" _I did what I had to do," he repeated._

" _But if you hadn't been stewing in your own selfish desires, you wouldn't have had to," she countered. "And it's so nice to see that your decision is paying off so well."_

 _He nodded firmly. "It is. We are well, doin' better than ever."_

" _Are you tone deaf, dear brother? You must be since you missed the obvious sarcasm in mine," she quipped. "We clearly aren't thinking of the same group of people here."_

" _I don't know what you mean," he said though he wasn't convinced of his words._

" _Blind and deaf, how horrible." Her eyes locked on his. "They're falling apart, Freddy. Bonnie's insubordinate and moody. Foxy is refusing to emerge from the Cove, wallowing in his own guilt. Chica's cracking under these tensions and her own personal problems while you're just trying your best to keep the precarious threads they're attached to dangling as long as you can."_

 _Freddy shook his head as if that would be enough, but he had seen this all himself. He didn't know what was happening or how to fix it and he feared it would only get worse. As if sensing this fear, Golden went on._

" _But then again, it's not really you that's keeping them dangling is it? Sure you're fine when everything's quiet and peaceful. But when things get tough and you actually need to do something, you just prefer to hide away backstage and leave it be, like it'll fix itself. Or you'll send someone else to fix it for you." She pulled out two more files, with Mike's and David's names. "At least they're doing their jobs properly as night guards, a lot better than you're doing yours."_

 _He sank back into his chair. He wanted to deny that it was true, but in a way he'd always known._

" _You may look like him, but if he were here, our father would be ashamed," admonished Golden. "You've failed him. They've learned to look after themselves and each other. If they have any issues, they have Mike. You? You're useless. I'll bet you don't even know the first thing about what really troubles any of them, because they have them even if you don't notice them. They don't need you, Freddy. I needed you and you left me to die. Very soon, they're going to fall apart completely and there'll be nothing you can do about it. Then, you'll learn how it feels to be left in the dark forever._

" _But, then again…" The lights started to dim until Freddy couldn't see anything at all. "Maybe you already have."_

* * *

kitkat1003: She is at that and apologies again.

Like The Cat I Am: Only RWBY, nothing else. Thank you

Idondoshit: It ain't easy, bro. I speak from experience.

lyokowarrior1999: The Toys will be featured when they are featured. Trust me, I do have plans for them.

xXToxicWolfXx: You won't know because you can't. Contrary to the kitchen camera in the game, it's illegal for security cameras to have audio pickup.

Candy: Were you right? And it looks like someone didn't read the conteeeeeext.

Balloon: Would you really expect her to get involved in something like this?

Bunny: My oh my, if I'd known I'd have gotten this kind of reaction from you lot, I would have done this ages ago.

Jean: Next chapter, my friend.

The Ben Who Must Not Be Named: Who says she isn't doing her little subtle things? And that's not Golden manipulating the dialogue. Security cameras don't have audio pickup. Farewell, my friend.


	11. Uncomfortable Truths

**Uncomfortable Truths**

Mike's first question to Golden was arguably an obvious one with an expected answer.

"W-What happened there?"

"I would have thought that the footage was fairly self-evident."

"B-But there was n-no sound," pointed out Mike.

"Of course there's no sound. Recording audio on video surveillance equipment is considered illegal in some states, since you're potentially eavesdropping on a private conversation." The kitchen camera briefly flashed up. "Obviously, this one is an exception since the video doesn't work but the other cameras around here don't have audio pickup. You know how the average American citizen can be when they feel their 'personal rights' are being breached."

"Oh." Mike was quiet for a moment. "I-Is that why y-you… hate them?"

"To an extent." She downcast her eyes. "I spent years as their teacher, developing their minds and getting to know them on a very personal level. I considered Freddy to be like my brother, which is appropriate considering certain factors. Then, they all played their part in making sure that I was properly retired for thirty years of mind numbing boredom."

Mike was surprised at this. "You were conscious? Wh-While you were d-deactivated, I mean?"

"Barely. Most of my primary processors were shut down, but a few of my backup pathways came online. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near enough to initiate a full reboot," she explained. "In the words of the one whom my heart longs for, you could say I was _still alive_. Imagine the feeling you get when you're just waking up but still feel tired enough to go to sleep. Imagine being like that for thirty years, with the knowledge that it was those closest to you who put you in that state. I think animosity developing from that is fairly understandable."

"I… I still don't u-understand. Why did they do it?" Mike asked.

"Aaron mentioned there was another animatronic? One that was deactivated?" Mike nodded. "That was because they didn't have any use for him. They only needed one teacher and he just happened to be the one they turned off. I replaced him while he was left to decay. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I learned the truth, I was determined not to let the same thing happen to me. Little did I know that it had already happened."

"Y-You mean… you think th-they replaced you?" clarified Mike.

"It's not a matter of opinion, it's fact. Yes, I was their teacher. But what exactly is a teacher supposed to do when her only pupils finish their education?" she asked. "The only other thing I could do was control animatronics that were very soon about to be made obsolete and myself along with them."

"B-But the others… F-Freddy, couldn't-"

"Mike, I told you that they're not as perfect as you may think," she reminded him sharply. "You saw what happened on the tape. Did it look like they were trying to accommodate me?"

"M-Mr. Johnson said th-they kept you onsite w-with the a-a-animatronics i-in case of-"

"In case anything went wrong? So I'm left as the second choice, to gather dust until a time that I _might_ be needed? Not even a real part of the show, without even a synthetic body of my own?" she scoffed. "What an attractive alternative. It's not like my dear brother would have considered it anyway."

That made Mike's mouth fall open. Freddy, the humble, contemplative leader of the band being ignorant of the plight of someone as close as his sister? Golden caught his reaction.

"Surprised to hear that? He may not show it anymore, but my dear brother had quite a bit of an ego during the earlier days he spent running the show in his new body. Having his name above the door, being the lead singer of the band and based on the mind of our father. Of course it all went to his head, not to mention all of the kids flocking to him to see the famous Freddy Fazbear." Her expression hardened. "In my opinion, it was only a matter of time until I was decommissioned for good and as you could see, it was Freddy himself who ended up confirming that.

"On that night, I confronted them. I said that I wanted to have a larger part in everything. I wasn't going to let myself get deactivated like my old partner and yet, as you could see…" She clenched her fists. "All I wanted was a bigger role, but they didn't want me sharing the spotlight. Freddy gave the order. Bonnie and Foxy held me down. Chica just stood by and watched it happen. You decide for yourself which of them is the worst."

"B-But… i-it can't have been th-that bad," murmured Mike.

"Mike, you don't understand." She looked him right in the eye. "Do you have any idea how it feels to have been so important and valued, only to be gradually pushed aside by something or someone else until that feeling of importance is only a bittersweet memory? Wouldn't you do anything you could to try and regain it again?"

Mike gazed back at her for a long while. Did she somehow know how much those words shook Mike to his core and reawakened memories he'd long since tried to bury? It was almost a physical struggle in itself to say his next words.

"I… I do understand."

"I see." She smiled comfortingly. "I won't ask about it. But it's comforting to know I have a friend who does. Even though it's probably not the best thing for you."

They both laughed a little and lapsed into a comfortable silence. While they did, Mike took the time to think about this. It was difficult to deny what he had seen on the tape, especially since he knew so well the ones who were part of this. At least he thought he did. It was hard to believe they would do something like what they had done to Golden.

But this had happened a long time ago. A lot could have changed between then and now, including his friends. And as he'd said to Golden, he understood how painful it was to feel like you were being replaced after being so valued by someone. Even when quite a substantial amount of time had passed.

At that thought, Mike had another idea.

"Golden, I um… I know what happened to you w-was bad and I-I'm sorry for it. B-But I have a p-p-proposal," he said.

"Well, aren't you a bold one?" she remarked. "Sorry Mike, but you know who my heart is meant for."

"I-I-I don't m-m-mean th-that kind o-of-"

"I know, I'm joking," she assured. "But go on."

"O-Okay." He took a bit to collect himself. "S-So… it was b-bad. What happened t-to you, it was. But you're back now a-and th-thirty years is a-a long time. Time enough… to make changes."

She raised an eyebrow. "Mike, what exactly are you suggesting?"

"Th-That maybe… y-y-you could t-try and fix th-things. I-I know it's rough a-and that you're angry b-but Foxy was the s-same. Now, he's g-getting another chance t-to fix things. I-It's not easy, b-but he's trying. We all are. You can have the s-same, if y-you wanted," he offered.

Golden regarded Mike for a long while. He didn't know if she was seriously considering his proposal or if she was just staring like he had just said something completely ludicrous and stupid.

"Do you honestly think that they would?" Though she sounded cynical, to Mike there was a glimmer of hopefulness underneath.

"I think… that it's w-worth a try," he said sincerely.

Once again, she lapsed into silence with a contemplative expression. Mike leaned forward expectantly for her eventual answer. She parted her lips like she was about to speak when she suddenly grimaced and a pained grunt came out instead. The screen flickered a few times over the space of about five seconds, but Mike could just make out Golden clutching her head.

He thought he saw something else as well. For barely a second during the flickering between static and Golden in the dining room, he thought there was another image on the screen. But it was so quick he could have been mistaken. The flickering stopped, Golden shaking her head.

"What was that?" asked Mike. "Golden, are you okay?"

"Fine, just fine," she said quickly. "Just a small glitch, that's all. I've been off for thirty years, so I'm not completely perfect."

"Are you sure you're-?"

"Yes Mike, I'm fine," she cut off sharply. "And… I appreciate what you're suggesting, but it wouldn't work. _They_ wouldn't let it happen, especially not my dear brother."

"But why? Why him specifically?"

"Because when it comes down to it, he prefers the safer route. The _easier_ route. If he can't handle it himself, he either lets it lie or he lets someone else deal with the problem. The only time he ever does something himself is when he's forced into it. Haven't you ever noticed that?" she asked.

"Th-That's n-n-not true," Mike argued feebly.

She shrugged. "If you insist. He's back tomorrow, so you can try to talk to him about it if you like, but I can guarantee you he'll just shut his ears and pretend there's no problem. Just like he did with me." She glanced off to the side. "I need to go, Mike. If you do need to speak to me again, I've devised a number you can contact me with on your phone. I'll see you later."

The screen flickered and Golden was gone, leaving Mike alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Mike spent the rest of the night and the duration of the day considering what Golden had told him. His rebuttal against Golden's point about Freddy was less than substantial when he'd first said it, but now he had been left to think about it, it was even more difficult to argue against.

The fact was that he'd rarely seen Freddy deal with any serious problems himself. Even when nothing was really going on, he spent most of his time in the backstage room. He had left Foxy to stew in his misery for over twenty years without really doing anything, to Mike's knowledge. Even recently, with Foxy's renewed depression, he had retreated to his room at the mention of Golden. Something that it seemed he'd rather leave without confrontation. When a man was holding a gun to his dad's head, it had been Mike who had to come up with a plan of action.

At the thought of his dad and a triggering of something Chica had once told Mike about him, Mike had called him up. They talked for a little bit until Mike asked him if any of the arguments he and Freddy had whenever the latter was off brooding backstage was about Golden.

"She came up more than a few times, yeah," he answered. "I kept telling him that he was just using whatever happened to her as an excuse to cut himself off from everyone. Usually that's around the point when I'd be out on my ass. Literally."

Mike thanked him and hung up not long after. This only seemed to further reinforce what Golden had told him. But even so, Freddy had sent Mike to help Foxy because he'd wanted him back. He'd wanted to help him after the Bite, so Mike couldn't see why he wouldn't want the same for his supposed sister.

When the time came for his shift that evening, Mike was convinced to at least mention it to him or try to get him to talk about her. He smiled slightly at the thought of having his friends back, despite their behaviour the past couple of days. Maybe he could help work through their issues too.

"Hey guys!" he greeted cheerily. "I'll be with you in a sec."

He headed to the rear door to lock it, but quite a shock when he turned to go back down the corridor and found Chica waiting for him.

"Um, hello Mike." She was fidgeting quite a bit and her voice was very quiet. "H-How have you been?"

"Uh, fine I guess," he replied. "How was your uh, sleep? Did you-?"

"I need to talk to you!" she blurted out suddenly. Her cheeks flushed blue. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I-I interrupted you, how rude. Silly me, ha-ha. A-And you're not even finished locking the doors yet! Sorry, I should l-let you get on with it. Make sure you do your job, right? Which I am delaying b-because I'm babbling now, how silly of me but then again, you know me ha-ha."

Mike managed to interject while she laughed awkwardly. "Sure, I'll talk to you. I've missed you all. I've finished locking up anyway."

"Oh. Good." She stared at her hands while she fiddled with them. "Uh, can we go in the kitchen? In private?"

"O-Okay," said Mike, not liking where this might be going.

On their way through the dining room, Mike saw Bonnie with her feet on one of the tables. She scoffed as they walked by.

"Where have I seen this before?" she remarked. "I'm sure it's gonna turn out _just_ as well as last time."

"Bonnie!" Chica gasped. "Stop it!"

"Ooh, well that's me told," she retorted. She closed her eyes and leaned back. "You tell me what a resounding success it was when it's over, won't you?"

Chica glared at Bonnie and started towards her. But she screwed up her eyes, looked away while muttering to herself and carried on. Mike looked from one to the other before hurrying after Chica. She stood in a far corner of the kitchen, her gaze angled down.

"C-Close the door, please." Her voice was bordering on a whisper. Mike did as she asked and faced her. "Alright then. So um… I said I w-wanted to talk."

"Go ahead," prompted Mike.

"Don't rush me!" she snapped, then clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Just this is a little hard f-for me to do. N-Not talking in general, I do that all the time of course. But with you, this is hard. N-Not all the time, of course. We talk all the time, you're great to talk to and I-I hope I'm nice to talk to as well but… th-this particular subject is a-a little difficult for me t-to discuss. Um... yes." She lapsed into silence again. "I… I need to ask you something. I-It's important."

"Right. Okay." Mike waited for her to go on, but nothing was forthcoming. "Do you uh… want me to come back later? If you're-"

"Don't go!" she begged. "Please, don't go! I-I just need a moment t-to collect my thoughts. Y-Yes, that's all."

"O… kay." Again, he waited.

"Thank you. So um… basically… what I mean is… what I-I want to sa- I m-mean ask, sorry, is um… is…" She mumbled something, but Mike could barely make it out.

"What was that?" Her reply was hardly any louder. "Chica, y-you're going to have to speak up."

"Do-you-like-me?" she asked rapidly.

Mike froze. A part of him had been expecting this, but it didn't make him any less shocked to hear it. He hadn't fully expected her to just ask him right out. He remembered what Golden had told him about just telling her how he felt, but how could he when he didn't know himself?

"Um… i-in what way?"

"Mike, please. You know what way…" She finally looked up at him, with a borderline desperate look. "I know y-you said what happened at Christmas w-was just tradition b-but… you must have felt something."

"Uh… w-well…" Mike was at a loss. He didn't know what to say. "I um… I…"

"Mike, please just tell me," she begged. "I want to know, I _need_ to know. I felt something under that mistletoe. How can you not have? Wasn't that night special? Please, tell me, please."

"Ch-Chica, I… I don't… I c-can't…"

"Yes, you can," she insisted. "Mike, I have to know. Don't deny me this, please."

Mike shuffled to the door. "I… I gotta to go. W-We can talk la-"

"No, not later!" she shouted. "Mike, tell me! Please!"

"I don't know!" blurted out Mike. "I really don't know, okay?! I just… I don't!" He saw her expression begin to crumble and her eyes begin to water, but he turned away. "I-I have to go see Freddy. I'm sorry."

He walked out the kitchen. He heard a choked sob just as the door closed behind him with a heavy thud like the weight that had started to form in the pit of his stomach.

"Nice work there, Romeo!" called Bonnie without opening her eyes or looking up. "That really couldn't have gone any better, if soul crushing devastation is what you were aiming for!"

"You're not helping!" Mike retorted. "What is wrong with you, Bonnie?"

"Oh, I'm fine." She stood up from the table and stalked off to the cupboard. "Just plain peachy."

"Why don't you talk to her then?" he demanded.

"And where does it say I have to clean up your mess?" she shot back, only glancing back at him. "Not my problem."

She shut the door behind her with a sharp snap that made Mike wince. He tried to ignore the faint sounds Chica was making and walked away from the kitchen. No sign of Foxy either and it seemed Freddy had gone straight backstage. Freddy had to see what was happening here. He and Mike could help pull things together again.

He knocked on the door and felt even less confident when he heard Freddy sombrely say, "Enter." Mike did so, finding him sitting in his chair. A look of relief spread across his face.

"Ah, Mike. Good to see you, son," he said sincerely.

"You too, Freddy," he replied. "Sorry there's no time for catch up, but we've got problems."

"I noticed." He sighed. "I wish I had some inklin' as to what was goin' on with everyone, but I simply cannot fathom it and I'm at a loss of what to do."

Mike blinked. "You… know?"

"Of course. It isn't difficult to notice." He looked at Mike. "I may have to rely on you again Mike to try and pull everyone together. They are in dire need of some help that I'm sure you can provide."

Mike heard what Freddy, but it was mingled with the memory of what Golden had told him. He didn't want to believe what he'd been told, but in essence here was proof.

"A-Are you serious?" he stammered.

"Why would I not be?" He offered a comforting smile. "You've managed things like this before, so I have complete faith in you that you'll be able to determine the cause of these anxieties and treat them."

"And w-what are you going to do?" Mike asked. "J-Just stay in here a-and avoid the problem?"

Freddy frowned. "I'm doin' nothin' of the sort."

"I-It seems like it to me," said Mike. "I-It's what y-you did with Foxy."

"Mike, don't assume that I didn't attempt to help Foxy before you came along," Freddy said patiently. "But you know that there was little we could do for him before you tried."

Mike swallowed his fear and managed to say, "W-Was i-i-it like th-that… w-with Golden too?"

The change that had on Freddy was truly profound. His eyes fixed on Mike. He rose slowly from his chair. His patient expression dissolved away to give way to mounting anger.

"I warn you now, Mike. You are treadin' some very dangerous ground here," he said in a low voice.

It chilled Mike's blood to hear him speak like that. It was everything he could manage not to just leave the room right then and there.

"I-It's a l-l-legitimate q-q-question, considering w-w-what I-"

"Don't you dare presume to know what happened," he warned. "You don't know a thing."

"B-But I do know." Mike gulped. "I-I saw the tape a-a-and I did s-some digging. M-My dad, h-he told me s-some things t-t-too."

Freddy huffed. "Like father, like son. Both of you stickin' your noses where they're not wanted."

"F-Freddy, please," Mike pressed on. "I-I know w-what happened w-w-was bad, b-but maybe th-there's a chance. Y-You could t-try and f-f-fix things with h-her, if you just-"

"You think I wouldn't want that?!" he shouted. "You think I didn't try?! I gave her a chance but she wouldn't… it had to be done!"

"But you can't j-just leave it there!" insisted Mike.

"I leave it wherever I please. It's my business and certainly none of yours!" he retorted.

"It's everybody's business! Because now you're abandoning them, just like you abandoned her!"

Freddy took a step forward. He raised his arm with his fist clenched. Mike cried out and covered his head with his arms, shutting his eyes. But no heavy blow came at him. When Mike dared to open his eyes, he saw Freddy's arm was back at his side, but his fists were still clenched in anger.

"Get out," he growled. Mike didn't move. "You heard me. Go on! OUT!"

Mike scurried out as fast as he could, shutting the door behind him. He slumped against it and pressed his head in his hands. It seemed like everything was falling apart. Bonnie was apathetic. Chica was in tears. Foxy was wallowing in his misery. Freddy wasn't doing anything and now seemed even less likely to do so.

He trudged back to the security office and sank into his chair. He cycled through all of the cameras, groaning every time he saw the synthetics and the states they were in. Mike was at a loss. He couldn't handle all of this. What was he supposed to do? Who else could help? Mike's first thought was his dad, but then he saw a new contact in his phone.

It was a long shot to ask her, but it was worth a try.

He pressed his ear to the phone until Golden's voice greeted him. "Hello, Mike. How are you coping without me tonight?" Mike's response was a sigh. "That bad?"

"Pretty much," he affirmed. "Things are just… kind of crazy right now. I don't know what's wrong with everyone. I tried to talk to Freddy about you, but…"

"I said so, didn't I? Actually, I've been thinking a little bit more about your proposal," she said. "I still think it's unlikely, but perhaps there might be a way for me to clear things up with everyone and perhaps start afresh."

"Really?" Mike asked. "What's your idea? When do you want it done?"

"If we do this right, I think we can do it tonight," she told him. "First of all, it involves you coming to get my storage unit, if you will. I think every bit of me needs be here for this. Come down to the docks and go to warehouse fifteen on the waterfront. I'll make sure the side door is left open for you."

"Alright then," agreed Mike. "I'll see you there."

He hung up and started to go tell the others he was going, but realised that might start questions being asked. They wouldn't let him do this, but he didn't want them worrying. So he dug out the sketch pad he kept in the drawer and scrawled down a quick note that he'd gone out, that he'd be back soon and he'd left them the keys so they could lock up after him.

He unlocked the back door, placed his ring of keys on the desk and ventured off into the night. He went at a quick pace. Time was of the essence. He grabbed a late bus down to the docks and practically ran through the deserted port area towards the warehouses. It was strange to think the last time he'd been here was in the company of Foxy. Perhaps now the Bite had passed, he and Golden might be able to relate to one another.

He hurried by the warehouses until he found the one specified. The larger doors were closed, but he found a smaller side door that was ajar. Despite a few of the lights being on, it was still dark enough to be fairly creepy so Mike pulled out his torch and called Golden up on his phone to find out where she was.

He followed her directions, his footsteps echoing loudly around the cavernous area. He passed shelves filled with bedding, clothing and boxes of food. His stomach grumbled a little at the last one and he regretted not getting something to eat while at the restaurant. It made him think of Chica, then motivated him to walk a little faster.

Mike spotted something in the shape of an upright bear. He put away his phone and practically sprinted towards it. It was a suit that looked like Freddy's, but gold and in a state of disrepair.

"Face to face at last, Mike." Her voice was garbled by static. "Sorry. The voice box on this old thing si falling apart. Hope it's not too bad."

"It's fine. So, what did you have in mind?" asked Mike.

"You'll see in a moment. And Mike? I'm so sorry about this. I truly am."

Mike was about to ask what she meant until he became aware of the sound of metal footsteps behind him. Before he could turn around, something grabbed his arm and locked it in place. Another went around his neck, cutting off his scream. More figures emerged from the shadows, standing with Golden while her suit shook its head sorrowfully.

"I'm really sorry about this Mike," she repeated. "But I'm believe me when I say that I have no choice."

* * *

Idondoshit: Stuffed in a suit without fluff.

xXToxicWolfXx: Good to know

Elhini Prime: Possibly, possibly not. And thank you.

Nickle7654: Yes I am. Problem?

lyokowarrior1999: Okay, first thing: Mangle isn't necessarily the culprit. Just because Game Theory says so doesn't make it canon. It's very likely and I don't disagree, but it isn't canon. Now, for your questions: Toy Bonnie will be male and Mangle with be female.

DarknessEverlasting: Such high stakes tension, I love it. Thank you, you too.

Candy: Well Freddy has read Harry Potter, so you could say that it's based on that. But it's just his dream. It doesn't have to _be_ anywhere. Technically, Golden is older since she was 'born' before Freddy.

Balloon: … I don't get it.

Bunny: You know, I'll just do with this with all the things I don't understand or don't want to understand and think about other things. Like fish.

NickinChicken: You have given me images of those two that I find both wonderful and slightly arousing. Not sure if that's entirely a good thing. One: Godammit give them back! They need to be fleshed out so they're more three dimensional! Two: You have fun figuring all that out. It amuses me to see you use that tiny lump of grey matter you affectionately refer to as your brain. Three: Yes, explaining will have to be made. You're welcome, Chick and thank you for being such an awesome person who found it and does great art for it. And I'm sorry, but you cannot keep Chica. I need her. For reasons. And I still have GOLDEn, fool…

Auto-Buscus: Interesting that you see it that way, my friend. And no, it wouldn't make you feel less guilty. You're welcome, as I do appreciate them greatly


	12. Make The Call

**Make The Call**

The cut off scream. The resistance and dull crunch of bone followed by the disgusting tenderness of flesh. The look of horror on the face of every parent, fear on every child and shock on his friends. The years of loneliness, pain and guilt. He may not have lost his frontal lobe, but the Bite had left its impact more on Foxy than anyone.

It seemed now they all understood. Ever since their recharging session had finished, no one had tried to come into Pirate's Cove and get him to come out. It only confirmed what he thought about himself even more when he'd thrown Bonnie out when she tried during the day. She hadn't exactly been kind trying to get him to come out, but he was thankful he hadn't scarred her like he'd done with Chica. They'd let him be, as they should.

He noted briefly the sound of raised voices, Freddy and Mike it seemed. He heard the backstage door open and shut, then what could only be Mike making his way back to the security office. He was glad there were no cameras in here, so the lad wouldn't have to see him in such a sorry state.

It had been nice to almost forget about it for a while. He'd tried to make the most of the chance that Mike and everyone had given him, but he'd been a fool to think he could ever move past what happened. This is what he deserved. He just was just a waste of energy now. During the years he'd been in here, he had considered more than once turning himself off for good. He'd held on though, out of some vague feeling of hope that there might be a chance for him.

Now though…

But again something stopped him. It was the thought of the young man who had renewed his hope, who had given him that second chance. Who'd even let him see the ocean for the first time in his life. It wouldn't be right to just end it now, not without saying goodbye and thank you. It was the least Foxy could do him.

He poked his head out of the curtains. No one in the dining area. It was eerie how quiet it was. Not a peep from anyone. He thought he could hear the sounds of sobbing coming from the kitchen, but he dismissed it. If Chica was upset, the last thing she needed was him trying and failing to cheer her up. Mike could manage that.

Softly, he crept out of his Cove and down the corridor to the office. He paused before entering, wondering what exactly he would say. He decided to keep it simple. Just say thank you and goodbye. That would be enough. Mike would try and stop him if he told him. In time, Foxy knew he'd understand this was for the best.

He tapped on the window. "Mike? You in there, lad?" No reply. He poked his head around but the office was empty. "Mike?"

Maybe he was in the bathroom, he thought. He went inside to wait for him to come back. That was when he saw a note had been left on the desk, along with the keys. Curious, Foxy picked up the note.

 _Guys_

 _Gone out for a bit. Will be back soon, don't worry. Lock the back door for me and let me in when I get back. I'll call the office phone._

 _Mike._

Foxy frowned at the note. Mike had left? What for? Foxy's first thought was fresh air, but that didn't need locking the door. There was food and drink here and he wouldn't have gone home early. They weren't even half an hour into his shift. Perhaps it was personal business, like his parents back in town or something?

Regardless, he needed someone to let him back in when he came back. Since none of the others were around and Foxy knew he owed the man a hundred times over. So, he sat in his chair to wait for him.

He glanced around the office. Things hadn't changed all that much since David's time, apart from the security tablet in place of the old monitors that had once been hooked up to the cameras. Foxy saw the device and picked it up. He scrolled through the cameras. Chica was indeed in the kitchen, sounding quite upset with something. Poor lass. Bonnie was simmering in the store cupboard. She saw the camera was watching her and gave a very rude hand gesture to it.

"Bee in your bonnet, Bon?" he muttered, changing screens.

Freddy was backstage looking rather sour. It looked like this was a bad night for everyone. For a moment, Foxy wandered if maybe they'd been having bad dreams too. He put the monitor back down and looked around for something else to do.

His eyes fell on Mike's sketchbook which he'd left on the desk. He drummed his fingers on the chair, itching to have a look. The lad was a dab hand at his craft. Surely he wouldn't mind if Foxy had a little look. Very carefully, he started to go through it.

There were many sketches of them all, either out of their suits or in them but looking more cartoonish and vibrant than the suits really made them look. Chica had a fair few pages devoted to her. He chortled when he saw one of Bonnie being dunk tanked and another one of her being chased by spiders. So, he had taken the information Foxy had given him to heart.

Foxy felt a well of pride when he saw some of himself. Sailing the Sea Fox. Fighting off pirate skeletons. Standing over a chest of treasure. One of him and Mike that had the lad depicted at his first mate that didn't look quite finished yet. It had a message scrawled in the corner.

 _My captain._

It was hard to keep the smile off his face at that. He really was a fine lad. He turned over the next page and felt his chest contract.

There was a figure drawn here. One that Mike couldn't possibly know about, least of all what she looked like. He wildly thought it might be someone else, some character from one of his TV shows or video games, but there was no mistaking her. The hair, the clothes, the way she held herself. It could only be…

But how? How could Mike possibly know about Golden? There was a chance one of them could have told him about her, but this had been drawn as if she were standing right in front of him.

Foxy nearly fell out of his seat as the phone rang. When he looked at the sketch pad again, he realised he'd been gripping it rather hard without meaning to, so much so his fingers had made some holes in the paper.

"Blast it. Sorry, lad," he muttered. He went for the phone. "Mike, that ye? I'll come right round and let ya in. There's… somethin' we need ta talk about."

But it wasn't Mike's voice that came through the other end.

"Sorry, I'm afraid it's going to have to wait. Mike can't come to the phone right now."

Foxy was shocked into silence, but only for a few seconds. In that time, his anger rose to a boil.

"Yer awake," he muttered.

"Wow, well done you," she remarked sarcastically. "I think a round of applause for Captain Obvious here, sailor of the good ship Blatantly Transparent on course to the sea of Glaringly Palpable."

"What do ye want?" he growled.

"Why do I have to want something?" she asked innocently. "Can't we just talk like civilised people? Oh wait, I forgot who I was addressing."

"Ya got a lotta nerve ta be doin' this, ya backstabbin', traitorous, lice-infested sea snake!"

"Hey, don't go chewing me out, Foxy. Oops, sorry. Bad subject," she said with no sincerity.

"Gimme one good reason, one _very_ good reason, why I shouldn't hang up this phone, then consider hangin' ye too?!" he demanded.

"A challenge, hm? Let me see here… how about, if not, then I can't guarantee that nothing bad will happen to Mr Schmidt here," she offered.

Foxy felt himself grow cold. "What have ye done ta him, ya mutinous, yellow-bellied bilge swiller?!"

"You know, if nothing else, I do admire you for being so creative with those colourful insults of yours," she said.

"Where is he?!"

She tutted. "Now, now Foxy. You should really watch that temper of yours or it'll get you into trouble one of these days. Although, from what I hear…"

"TELL ME!"

"Alright, calm down. As I've said, I haven't done anything to Mike and if you want to keep it that way, you'd best not hang up this phone," she warned.

"Yer bluffin'," he challenged. "Mike's fine. He's just gone out fer a bit, he'll be back any moment. In fact, I should hang up this phone so he can call when he does come back. Not that I needed an excuse."

"Why wait, when you could talk to him right now?" He heard a rustling sound and another voice. "There we go. Go ahead."

"F-Foxy?" There was no mistaking his voice. "I-I'm sorry."

"Mike!" he cried. "Mike lad, what happened?"

But Mike didn't have time to answer because moments later, Golden's contemptuous tone was in his ear again.

"I think we understand the situation perfectly. Now do me a favour and put my dear brother on, would you?"

"Aye, I can do that," Foxy growled through gritted teeth.

She laughed. "Good dog."

Foxy slammed the phone down on the desk and sprinted for the backstage area. Not caring for knocking, he burst through the door and hauled Freddy up by his suit lapel.

"Foxy! What is the meanin' of this?" demanded Freddy.

Foxy didn't answer him but simply dragged him all the way to the office, despite his protests and calling for an explanation. There wasn't time for that. Mike was in danger and every second counted. He pushed him into the office and handed him the phone.

"What is…?" Freddy gave Foxy a bewildered look, but Foxy just motioned for him to use the phone. "Very well then. Hello?" His expression turned to one of shock. "G-Golden?"

"What?!" Foxy whirled around to see Bonnie, Chica trailing not far behind. "Why is he talking about her? What's going on?!"

"Where'd ye come from?" asked Foxy.

"The gumdrop kingdom of magical rainbows and unicorns. You know it as the store cupboard," she responded. "I heard you and Freddy making a ruckus and come out here to find this. What hell is going on?!"

"Bonnie, hush!" hissed Freddy. They all listened to Freddy's responses. "What do you want?... Let him go, he has no part in this… I see… I'm sorry." Freddy hung up, looking at them sombrely. "That was indeed Golden. She's somehow been reactivated and she's taken Mike hostage."

"No!" Chica gasped.

"She hasn't hurt him and she has no plans to, as long as I come to the warehouse where she's been stored. _Alone_ ," he emphasised. "The three of you are to stay here until I return with him. Don't attempt to come after me and don't try anythin' foolish, less we put Mike's life in danger. Understood?"

"Fred-"

"Is that understood, Foxy?" he repeated sharply.

Foxy gritted his teeth. He hated the idea of standing idly by while Mike was in danger. But then, he thought, maybe he didn't have to. He nodded in response. Freddy looked satisfied, turned to go then paused. He looked back at them.

"I'm sorry. I've let you all down, I know. But I won't now. Not with this. I will bring him back," he promised.

With that, he ran to the back door. They heard it open and close. Foxy counted down from ten in his head, then started to follow.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Bonnie.

"Well, I know it _seemed_ like I understood Freddy, Bon but I'm afraid ta say I wasn't bein' entirely honest'." He shrugged. "Pirate's prerogative. Now, come on you two. Let's get after 'em!"

Bonnie held her hands up. "Whoa, hold up. What makes you think we're going anywhere?"

"Yer not serious! 'Course we're goin' after them!" insisted Foxy. "What else would we do?"

"How about stay here? You know, like we were told to?"

"Belay that!" dismissed Foxy. "We can't just abandon 'em!"

"It'll be fine!" she shouted. "Freddy's gonna get Mike, they're gonna come back and they're both gonna be fine!"

"Do ya really think that or is that what ye'd prefer ta tell yerself?" retorted Foxy.

"They're fine!" Bonnie repeated. "They're gonna be fine, so just drop it already!"

"You know it's not that simple!" countered Foxy. "Golden's done this fer a reason! She's planned this! Freddy'll be walkin' inta a trap and if he is, what's gonna happen to him? What's gonna happen to Mike?!"

"They'll deal with it!"

"What if they don't? What if they need help? If they don't, we might lose 'em bo-"

"SHUT UP!" she shouted. "You just wanna go because you wanna make up for the Bite! Why can't you just let that go already?!"

"At least I'm not quiverin' in me boots and cowerin' like some cack-handed deck ape!" he yelled.

Bonnie's voice became low and dangerous. "Say that again."

"Ya heard. I said yer scared. I can't believe ye'd jus' stand by and let yer friends d-"

He was cut off by Bonnie's fist slamming into his face, followed by a powerful kick. The force sent him flying through the office door and smacking into the wall on the other side. He shook his head to see her stalking towards him, her face livid. Foxy rose to his feet and clenched his fist. If she needed to have some sense knocked into her, so be it.

He ducked under her next swing and used his shoulder to push against her. She went flailing away from him while he stood upright again, ready to run at her. Bonnie recovered shortly, making moves to punch him again. But neither of them reached each other. Another hand gripped Foxy and shoved him away along with Bonnie at the same time.

Chica stood between them. Her head was lowered, so Foxy couldn't make out her face. But when she spoke, her voice was trembling.

"That's enough. Whatever reasons Foxy has to go or why you might not want to don't matter. What does is Golden and what she's doing. She tried to hurt us once and now she's doing it again through M-Mike…" She faltered at his name but pressed on. "Even if she doesn't hurt him, she's still going to do something to Freddy. Foxy's right. It's a trap and he's walking straight into it. We need to be there and we need to help them both. So I'm going with Foxy because they need _us._

"Bonnie…" She looked to her. "You can stay behind if you really want. I know how you must feel. But I also know that you don't really think it's fine to just let Golden hurt us like this. So I'm asking… no, I'm telling you… f-for once to just… j-just…" There was a sharp intake of breath before she screamed, "JUST GET _OVER_ YOURSELF!"

They could see her face now. It made Foxy feel horrible to see the expression of heartbreak and pain that soured her usually gentle features. Bonnie was impacted too. She recoiled slightly from Chica's heartrending cry and seemed unsettled by the look on her face. She looked from side to side, making incomprehensible noises.

"Okay. Okay!" she finally shouted. "Let's go already!"

"Thank you." Chica cleared her throat and tried to smile to Foxy as best she could. "Foxy, please lead the way."

He smiled gratefully back at her. "Right ye are, lass!" he cheered. "They be down by the warehouses and I know exactly how ta get there. Onward, says I! Onward!"

They charged out of the back door and into the night. Foxy took a moment to recall, then sprinted off with Bonnie and Chica as fast as they could. As long as they were quick, they wouldn't have to worry about anyone getting more than a glimpse of them. And hopefully, they'd get there in time.

* * *

"How are your wrists? Are the ropes digging in much? I only want this to look as realistic as possible with as little discomfort to you as possible." Mike didn't reply. "I'll take your silence to mean that you're fine. So, do you like my suit? I know it's seen better days, but there's a lot of history behind this. Like uh, here." She pointed to a faint handprint stain on her face. "A kid got a little too excited with his hands covered in cheese. Wanted to give me a hug, the sweet little thing. I think he gave me this coke stain too. At least, I _think_ it was coke. Would it be weird if I asked you to smell it and check?" Mike was silent. Golden leaned closer. "Yes? No? Mike, I already told you I can't actually read minds, so I need some sort of verbal response here."

Mike did respond this time, but not verbally. He just turned his head away from her, looking at the floor where he could see one of the feet of the animatronic Chica standing guard. She had been doing this for a while, trying to talk to him as if all they had done was meet up for a coffee. Mike didn't want to say anything to her, but her constant use of a friendly tone like she wasn't holding him hostage right now was starting to get to him.

"Okay, I'm detecting more than a hint of animosity here," she noted conversationally. "Mike, I already said that I'm sorry for this. Can't we just put this behind us and be friends again? We've had some good times, haven't we? Remember when I terrified you? Wait, that's not really good for you, is it? Oh, I know! How about we see if there's a TV somewhere in here and I'll try putting Netflix on. Watch the rest of Red Vs Blue, huh? See if Carolina actually fights Tex this time rather than them teasing us with it? Come on, Mike my friend, how does that sound?"

"Friends don't tie each other up and keep them hostage!" Mike cried hysterically.

"Oh thank the lord, he can talk! It's a miracle!" Her laughter died down quickly. "Not a good joke? Sorry, religious humour has never really been my strong point. Especially since your concept of deities just stems from your strange human need to weave a web of meaning where there's none at all to make sense of the chaos around you."

"Why, Golden?" beseeched Mike. "Why are you doing this?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was God's will?" She snorted through her voice box, which sounded like a burst of static. "Sorry, sorry, couldn't say that with a straight face. I'll stop now." Her tone became more serious. "Mike, I really mean it when I say I'm sorry to get you mixed up in this."

"Then let me go!" he begged. "I-I won't come a-after you or anything! I-I-I'll f-forget about this!"

"Mike, calm down. I'm not going to actually hurt you, I promise. That was just something to get my brother's attention, like keeping you here," she assured. "When I've done what I need to do, I'll let you go. You have my word."

"How can you expect me to trust that?!"

She looked at him for a bit. "I'm not going to deny, that stung a little. I've not hurt you at all and I'm not going to, I swear. You're not the one I bear resentment towards. Pun not intended."

"B-B-But you're still g-going to hurt Freddy a-and the others!" protested Mike.

"But why? Y-You said you h-had much more freedom than before. Y-You could have just g-gone somewhere else, done anything else!" argued Mike. "You could have let this go!"

"I already told you, Mike. I have no choice," she said sombrely.

"Yes, you do!"

"No, I really don't," she insisted. "Besides, I don't think you can tell me I should be letting things go."

Mike winced. "I-I don't know wh-what you mean."

"You're a terrible liar, Mike," she said, shaking her head. "But I won't get into that. Like I said, I don't have any grudge against you. This will be over soon, I promise. Very soon. " She turned her head at the sound of approaching footsteps. "Show time. Over here, brother dear!"

The footsteps quickened and Freddy came from around the corner. He looked at the sight waiting for him. Mike was tied to a chair, surrounded on all sides by the animatronics. At their head was Golden, who opened her arms in a welcoming gesture.

"So glad you could get here so promptly, Freddy," she greeted. "You haven't changed a bit, have you? In any sense."

Freddy said nothing for a while. He stared at her, his eyes flickering briefly to Mike. He offered a comforting smile to him before returning his attention to his sister.

"Golden. Let Mike go," he ordered. "He has no part in this."

"Don't worry, I will. Just as soon as you give me what I want," she replied.

"Your quarrel is with me. You didn't have to drag Mike into this and you certainly didn't have to involve the others."

"Brother, I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to," she said innocently. "I haven't done anything to hurt your little band."

"Golden, please don't lie to me," he said sadly. "I could have dismissed what happened to me as a nightmare from my wanderin' mind, but don't think I don't know better now after seeing what you've done to my friends."

"W-What d-d-does that mean?" Mike dared to ask. "F-Freddy…?"

"I'm sure you might know this already, Mike but Golden used to be our teacher within our minds and we both know the bad way Bonnie, Chica and Foxy have been in these past few days." He glared at Golden. "An odd coincidence, isn't it that this should happen while their minds are in a much more vulnerable state?"

"Y-You mean…?" Mike looked up at Golden with renewed fear. "Sh-She was i-in their heads?"

"You know, it's rude to talk about someone when they're with you," she said loudly.

"Very well then." Freddy pointed accusingly at her. "You were there in my mind. You created that nightmare from the darker parts of myself, to drive me to despair and to blind me to what was happenin' around me. If I were a bettin' man, I'd say you've been doin' the same to everyone else."

Golden said nothing, but to Mike her silence spoke volumes.

"I understand why you might have wanted me to suffer and I'd accept that, but you didn't have to involve them as well. They've done nothin' to you."

"Now who's the one lying?" she bit back. "They're just as responsible for what happened to me as you are, brother dear. In my eyes, they're just as guilty."

"They were only doin' what I told them. I have a responsibility to them."

"And what about your responsibility to me?" she spat. "We promised that we'd always watch out for each other if we needed it, but the moment I needed you, you turned your back on me! For _them_! After all I did for you!"

"How could you expect me to support you in doin' somethin' like that?" he asked. "I did what I had to do. But I should have known, I should have… I'm sorry."

"For what, leaving me to rot in a state of near death? Betraying me, along with them? Good to know." She thrust a finger at Mike. "I showed Mike! He knows exactly what you did!"

"So does that mean Mike also saw the animatronics that you were controllin' at the same? The ones here that you threatened to use if we didn't give you what you wanted?" challenged Freddy.

"What?! I-I never saw…!" Mike shot his eyes to Golden. "I thought you s-said you wouldn't alter the footage! I-I switched you off i-inside my phone!"

Golden didn't even glance back. "I didn't and you did. They just happened to be out of frame, covering the exits so they couldn't hide. You didn't need to see them."

"You a-a-attacked them?!"

"No. I threatened to, but I never managed to get around to it," she responded casually.

Mike couldn't believe this. "Why?! What for?!"

"For the one thing I was denied," she answered. "The one thing that cemented them and condemned me to eventual deactivation."

"You can't know that. You can't assume that just because you never got a synthetic body-"

"And why not?!" she demanded. "That's what it felt like! All of you, prancing about on stage while I was left to sit back and watch what I used to do! All of you got bodies, so why was there never one made for me?! You didn't deserve the privilege! _I_ was the original! _I_ was chosen to carry on! It's my _right_!"

"And I suspect you still wish to claim that right?" asked Freddy calmly.

She nodded. "I do. Since I can't have one of my own, yours will have to do. Since it's good for siblings to share their things, I'd say a swap is more than fair. Then, we both get to share the experiences that have been denied to us both. Me with physical sensations and you in the same state you left me in for thirty years."

Freddy appeared to consider. "And I take it that if I refuse, then Mike's life will be in danger?"

"Correct." Mike blanched when he felt the cold steel of Foxy's hook at his throat. "Your choice, Freddy."

Mike expected his life to start flashing before his eyes. His heart beat so hard he felt it might burst out of his chest and bile rose from his throat until he managed to swallow it back down. Golden had promised not to hurt him and she claimed this was an act, but right now it looked like a terrifying robot was going to slit his throat with that thing. It was hard to trust her promise with that. Was this just a bluff?

He didn't have to wait too long to see. Freddy sighed and walked towards her, his arms at his side. He stood in front of Golden, but did nothing else.

"Does this mean you… give up?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"I do. I won't allow Mike to be harmed for my mistakes. If this will make you stop, then I accept your terms," he said solemnly. "Just let him go."

"Freddy-" Mike was cut off when the hook dug a little deeper. Something trickled down his neck.

"Yes… yes!" Golden let out a laugh. "Hold him!" Freddy's robot counterpart held him in an arm lock. "Finally. Don't worry, brother. When I replace you, the rest of them won't even know the difference."

"Don't we get a say in that?" a familiar voice called.

Every head turned to see Bonnie strutting out of the darkness, one hand on her hip with the other at her side. Trailing next to her was Chica, clearly scared but looking as brave as she could.

"What is this?" Golden looked from one to the other. She shook her head frantically. "No, no, no, no! You're not supposed to be here! I told you, just Freddy!"

Freddy glared at them. "I said that I was to go alone."

"Yeah, I guess I was just a little deaf in both my ears when you said that," remarked Bonnie. "Sorry, boss."

"W-We couldn't let you do this alone," put in Chica.

"NO!" cried Golden. "You ruined it again! You have no idea what you've-" She suddenly clutched her head. "No, please… don't make me-" She screamed. Her voice became subdued. "I don't want… I'm sorry, Mike. It looks like I have to break my promise."

Mike's heart stopped. He could feel pressure start to increase on the hook. More warmth trickling down his throat and a new one down his leg. This was it. He was going to die and he couldn't stop it.

 _CLANG!_

The coldness of the hook was gone. Mike saw the robot Foxy crash to the floor while the genuine article stood behind him. With a flash of steel, Foxy's own claw cut through Mike's bonds, lifted him out of the chair and ran with him to Bonnie and Chica. The latter of them caught him in a tight embrace.

"Mike…" She let go a moment later, not looking at his face. "Thank g-goodness you're safe…"

"Good call letting go, I think." Bonnie glanced down at his now wet pant leg. "That's just gross."

"I thought I was going to die!" shrieked Mike.

"Not on my watch, lad," vowed Foxy. "Yer safe now. Meanwhile," he went on, taking a position in front of Mike with Bonnie and Chica, facing down their robotic doubles, "we got some bilge rats ta keel haul."

* * *

art/Five-Nights-At-Freddy-s-The-Synthetic-Saga-538698776

Go check out this fanart. No, you don't have a choice. Do it.

lyokowarrior1999: The only thing Balloon Boy is capable of doing is burning in the pits that spawned him. As far as the phantoms are concerned, I dislike them. They make the jumpscares less a punishment for failure and more a major annoyance that you can rarely avoid. Jumpscares are already cheap, but the phantoms made them worth less than dirt sold in a bargain bucket for free.

Roboticfreeze: Yeeeeeeah no.

MLPLoverForerver: Not sure if that's me you're talking about or Golden XD

Idondoshit: Wacka doo, mate.

NickinChicken: Bonnie isn't the most emotionally mature of individuals. And yes, Chica hasn't hurt anyone. I kind of want to see the image of her with a cat.

Auto-Buscus: Not really a spell. Just having the worst parts of her stirred up inside her head for three consecutive nights.

Zerothekitsune: Don't go painting mysterious AI with the same brush.

KanraKiddler: Personal stuff can be difficult to talk about. And yes, that is the only thing you know.

FnafLord29: Thank you. I shall.

Candy: I'm not sure, is it? And that's a shame to hear.

Balloon: Ha.

Bunny: Alrighty then.

Thegreekgodhades: I'd be worried if you weren't dreading it.

SmokieCZT: 1) Yes. 2) I am not even gonna bother with Shadow Bonnie. The best I can do with him is make him another AI, but his role is so obscure even by FNAF standards so it would be hard fitting him in anywhere.

DnWolfy: You're a smart lad. I'm sure you can answer your own questions.

Emerald2020: Huh?

KitsuneBoy22: I will be writing a fourth. Writing these as short stories is the best format for me, but let's get through this one first shall we? Yes, maybe someone would but this someone is Bonnie. The dream just made her feel even more insecure about the relationships of those around her than she already was.


	13. I'll Face Myself

**I'll Face Myself**

Freddy wasted no time acting. Once he saw Mike was out of harm's way, he heaved the animatronic that was holding him in place up and over his head. He threw it to the floor with a loud crash and backed away to join the others.

"I thought I explicitly told you to wait until I returned with Mike," he said pointedly.

"Yeah, but you know me. Always had a problem with authority," shrugged Bonnie.

"We couldn't just let you do this alone," put in Chica. "Not with M-Mike in danger."

"Aye!" barked Foxy. He grinned back at Mike. "Good ta see ya safe, lad."

"Y-Yeah…" Mike was still shaking from his brush with death, but managed a quivering smile. "Th-Thanks for c-coming for me. A-All of you."

"Like we'd ever leave ya!" Bonnie glanced at away at Foxy's words. "I told ya, ye should never sail treacherous waters alone."

"We wouldn't leave you alone. N-No matter what." Chica didn't look at him as she spoke and the way she said that made Mike wince from guilt.

"Excuse me?" Their attention was brought back to Golden, who stood with her arms folded. "Would you mind terribly if I interrupted this touching moment?"

"No one asked you!" Bonnie snapped.

She gasped. "Goodness me, Bonnie. Between you and Foxy, I can't really decide who has the worse temper. But then that's the only real thing you share, isn't it?"

"Shut up or I'll do it for you!" Bonnie threatened.

"How little some things change." She sighed. "You know, I was really hoping this would be simpler. I was just going to take Freddy's body, leave him in mine and carry on peacefully. But no, the motley crew had to make things more difficult. How little some things change indeed…"

"It doesn't have to be this way," urged Freddy. "All of us can walk away from this without resorting to violence. The world of technology has changed so much since you've been gone, my sister. You could go anywhere you wish and we couldn't even begin to consider coming after you. You could be free. Please, reconsider what you're doing."

"Oh, I know how much technology has advanced and I do agree it is incredible. But I'm afraid simply cutting my losses and running isn't an option. I've come too far for anything else. I have no choice." She stood back with the animatronics. "Now, how about a little game of hide and seek?"

She flicked her hand. The animatronic Freddy and Bonnie grabbed nearby stacks of crates and pushed them over. They all looked up to see the looming tower coming down on them.

"Move!" ordered Freddy.

Mike was swept off his feet by Foxy again. The air rushed past him as Foxy ran with him, covering his head with his arms at the sound of the enormous crash of splintering wood and the breaking of the various contents within.

"That was close. Ye alrigh', lad?" asked Foxy.

"F-Fine, fine," said Mike. He looked past the pile of rubble and gasped loudly. "Th-They're gone! She's gone!"

"She must have used the confusion to get away. We have to find her and… stop her," Freddy said heavily.

"Oh, I am gonna stop her, don't you worry," vowed Bonnie. She slammed a fist into her open palm.

"B-But this place is so big," pointed out Chica. "She could be anywhere. A-And the animatronics too…"

"Then we'll have to split up to cover more ground," suggested Freddy. "If you can, ignore the animatrons. They're little more than pawns in this game. Focus on taking out the king or else she won't stop."

"How do we know she won't try to run for it?" asked Bonnie.

"She won't." He turned to Mike. "Do you remember how to get out of here?"

"Uh, pretty much," answered Mike.

"Good, then get goin'. I'm not entirely certain how you got mixed up in this, but you make sure you get yourself out of it now." Freddy placed a hand on his shoulder. "When this over, you are goin' to explain yourself. That sound agreeable to you, Mike?"

Mike shuffled under the weight of their expectant, borderline suspecting gazes. He had a feeling that this might come and he just hoped it wouldn't be too bad. He nodded meekly.

"Then it's settled. We'll split off into pairs. Chica and I will take the left side. Foxy, you and Bonnie go on the right. Avoid engaging the animatronics, try to find Golden and when you do, try to shut her down," he surmised.

"And how do we do that?" asked Foxy.

Freddy seemed to have a hard time giving his next order. "Preferably, attempt to deactivate her safely. But… if you are left with no other choice… use whatever means you deem necessary."

"Does that mean taking her apart?"

He didn't answer Bonnie's question directly. He only gave her a solemn gaze and a very faint nod. She nodded back, looking rather satisfied with that response.

"Let's go, peg leg," she said, sprinting off.

"Righ' behind ya, long ears!" he called, taking after her.

"Come along, Chica," coaxed Freddy. "Mike, get out of here as fast as you can. We'll find you back at the restaurant."

Freddy set off at a powerful stride. Chica lingered. She looked at Mike. The mask of bravery she put on was already frail, but it looked like it might crumble completely every second her eyes were fixed on him. He opened his mouth to say something, anything that might help ease her pain. She seemed to wait expectantly for it.

But there was nothing. Whatever he could say, Mike knew it wasn't enough. When she saw there was nothing forthcoming, Chica looked away. She closed her eyes and Mike saw something glittering fall down her cheek.

"Go," she murmured. "Be safe."

She hurried after Freddy, not looking back. Mike stared after her helplessly. To think, it had been Golden who had been the one to tell him to just tell Chica how he felt. Even though he wasn't really sure what he felt. Maybe then she wouldn't…

But the thought occurred to him in that moment. She _was_ the one telling him these things about all of them. Just as she'd been apparently doing getting into their heads and twisting their minds to give them nightmares. From the darker parts of themselves, Freddy said. That explained their behaviour these past three days and she'd been the one doing it. All the while telling Mike things to try and turn him against them. Or at the very least bring him over to her side.

And for the most part, it had worked. Mike clenched his fist in anger. How could she do something like that? To think that he'd practically trusted her, hoped she might be a friend but if this was the kind of thing she did… she should have stayed switched off.

But now wasn't the time to be thinking about this. He needed to get out of here, so he did his best to recall the path he took to get here. The last thing he wanted was to run into one of the animatronics or worse, the one controlling them.

Mike hurried along, quickening his pace at every small sound. He paused at a crossroads in the aisles. Was it a right or a left here? Or was it straight on? This place was so big and he'd quickly rushed through the first time to find Golden. Maybe if he just went along the wall, he'd find the exit that way.

Something metal clattered to the floor behind him. Trying to control his breathing, he ran in the direction of the warehouse wall. Even here there were stacks of crates where anything could be hiding. Mike wished he had some sort of weapon with him. A length of pipe or even a wooden board with a nail in it.

Then he realised he was still wearing his security belt. He doubted his nightstick would do much to these things. He unhooked his taser and examined it. The electrical charge might disrupt the mechanics in the robots, but he'd need to get close enough to use it. He remembered that powerful grip on his arm. The thought of it around his throat…

Well, it was better than nothing anyway. His finger primed on the activation switch, he ran along the length of the wall as fast as he could.

He felt a surge of relief when he saw the light shining above the door. But then he got closer and his heart sank.

"No. No, no, no, no!"

A large box had been moved in the way of the door. He sprinted up to it, grabbed the sides and tried to heave it out of the way, pushing for all he was worth. But Mike wasn't the most physically adept of people and this box weighed a ton. This combined with his running around left him panting from his efforts.

"Come on!" he shouted desperately, kicking the box. "Why?! Why is this here?!"

"Because I don't want you leaving just yet, Mike," said Golden's voice behind him.

Mike whirled around and shrieked at the sight of her emerging from behind a stack of crates.

"Mike please, calm down," she urged. "Just let me explain, please."

"NO! Why should I believe anything you say?!" he cried. "You t-tried to kill me! You promised you wouldn't!"

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry," she said. "But I really don't have any choice."

"Why do you keep saying that?! Of course you have a choice!" he insisted. "You could have chosen not to kill me, to leave me and my friends alone! To leave _me_ alone and let me go!"

Her voice took on a regretful tone. "You have no idea how much I wish I could. I really don't want to hurt you, Mike because I know you understand."

"What, that you're insane?!" he shouted, backing away.

"No," she said solemnly. "When I added myself to your list of contacts, I was more than a little surprised to find out you _had_ a list. Not what I'd expect from a man who claims he has no friends."

Mike froze at that. "Th-They're old! I-I haven't got around to deleting them!"

"I'm sorry Mike, but I find it hard to believe you never found the time to simply open your phone and very quickly erase them. Especially since many of them are at least four years old." She cocked her head at him. "That's about how long it's been since you finished college, isn't it? I assume that's where you met them. Yet you've not even sent so much as a text or call in that time to any of them. Yet you still keep all the ones they'd sent to you. Especially one at the very top of your text list, with a lot of messages exchanged between you over a course of three years. Someone called Lidiya."

"Stop it…"

"One would wonder why such an apparently close friendship would be ended four years ago, but then we see the messages you kept that tell, in some ways, a similar story to mine. One of a friendship slowly being lost and steps taken to try and preserve it. Steps that those around you didn't agree with and shunned you for but you knew you had to try or risk losing everything. It may not be how Lidiya may have seen it, but you did it anyway."

"Stop it!" Mike cried. "Just stop it!"

"But you know it's true, Mike. You and I are more alike than you may think." She pressed her hands together. "We can help each other, Mike. You have to believe me. Please, just come with me."

"Wh-What?!" He backed away even further. "I-I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Mike, think about this carefully, I beg you."

"I don't have to!" he yelled. "You must be crazy to think I'd trust you even a little bit after all this!"

"Please, Mike you have to-" She suddenly screamed and clutched her head. "No, no! I can do this, I need more time! Don't, ple-AGGGGH!" She collapsed to her knees, her body shaking. "Mike, run! Get away from me, go!"

"H-Huh? Wh-What-?"

"No time! Just go!" she begged. "No, no, please noAGGGGGGGG-"

Her scream was suddenly cut off, like someone had pressed stop on a song. She remained hunched over. Mike kept his distance, in case this was some kind of trick.

Then she started to get up but Mike noticed there was something different. Her movements were a lot stiffer than before, almost like an actual robot. Her eyes were no longer golden, but were reduced to little white pinpricks of light in gaping black holes. She raised a hand to her face, flexing her suited fingers as if testing their flexibility. She clenched the hand into a fist.

And looked straight at Mike.

"G-Golden?" She didn't respond. She only stared at him. "Are y-you okay?" Silence. She tilted her head slightly. "Wh-What are you doing?"

She did respond but not with words. Instead, she took meaningful steps towards Mike. He didn't understand what had happened, but every instinct told him to run.

So he did with his mechanical pursuer not far behind.

* * *

Bonnie's eyes scanned rapidly for any sign of their target. If she saw even a hint of gold, she was going to be the first to make sure that she was shut down for good. Anything not to get sucked into the vortex of thoughts and feelings her mind had become. She'd be fine, as long as they got this finished. If only she could convince herself.

Just the news that Golden was involved in this stirred up so many emotions. Even after thirty years, her betrayal still cut deep for her. They were supposed to all look out for each other and when she'd betrayed that… Now she was doing it all over again. But Bonnie wouldn't let it get to her. She glanced back occasionally at Foxy. She'd show him she wasn't scared.

Of course she wasn't, why would she be? She just thought Freddy would be able to manage without them. He wouldn't have told them to stay unless he thought otherwise. They'd beaten Golden before, they'd have done it again. For all she knew, Freddy would have just come back safe and sound with Mike and they'd have been fine. Sure it looked like Freddy was just going to give himself up, but he'd have done something. And it was their presence that almost got Mike…

Mike. That little dork. Just a few nights ago, he'd been telling her how much he liked she stuck up for her friends. Yet until Foxy spoke up about it, she was prepared to just leave him. Some friend she was. The mocking words of her darker visage echoed in her mind, as well as Chica's scream to get over herself. Maybe there was more truth to them than she wanted to admit…

She moaned audibly. She didn't want to think about this right now. She felt an overwhelming urge to hit something and wished that Golden would pop up right now. Instead, it was Foxy who almost got her punch when he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Gettin' a lil' tense there, Bo- ARRRG!" He ducked under the punch. "Hey, save some-a tha' fer the robot me at least!"

"Yeah, well don't do stuff like that," she grumbled. "Just wanna be ready and I'll swing at anything I don't like the look of."

"So why was tha' one warranted?" he asked.

"I said anything I don't like the look of," she replied.

He chuckled good naturedly. "That's the Bonnie I know. With all the charm of a dead fish."

"It's dead slug, moron."

"I suppose ye'd know best."

"Yeah well…" She tried to think of something to say, but only managed, "Shut up."

"How did it take ya to think-a tha' one?" he laughed. "I still think ya seem a lil' on edge."

"Gee, I wonder why that might be?" she remarked sarcastically.

"Righ', good point," he agreed. "Still, I feel like I have some responsibility. I'm sorry fer callin' ya a coward."

For some reason, his apology made her feel more annoyed. "Fine."

"I am though. I jus' got riled when ya mentioned the… ya know. I just want ta be sure there's no-"

"Whatever, it's fine!" she insisted. "Now shut up about it!"

She turned around, but not fast enough to avoid seeing the hurt look on Foxy's face. She tried to ignore the twinge of guilt. She didn't have to feel guilty. She told him it was fine, but he kept bringing it up.

She froze as a mocking laughter came from the dark. "What a pair of good friends you two are. Such closeness, it really is touching."

Bonnie clenched her fist at the sight of her animatronic double walking out from behind the aisles. Though it couldn't make any facial expressions, she could hear the sneer in its voice.

"This really does confirm what I said," it went on. "You're just fine with everyone when they're singing your praises, but whenever they say anything as little as your bowtie not being on straight, it all changes."

It was that warped, distorted version of her voice taunting her. But it didn't escape her was what precisely was distorting it and it was another voice. Golden's.

Bonnie had no words. With a battle cry, she charged at the animatronic with her fist ready to swing forward. The animatronic ducked easily under her wild swing and tackled her to the floor.

"Bonnie!" She saw Foxy try to run over, only to be stopped by something hitting him in the face.

It was a metal pipe, thrown at him by his animatronic counterpart who emerged from his hiding place holding one of its own.

"Come on, captain," it challenged in a mingling of Golden and Foxy's voice. "Show what a fierce pirate you are. Unless you'd rather use your preferred weapons of choice. Which will it be? Hook?" It swung at him with its own, but he dodged back. "Or jaws." It lunged forward in a bite, Foxy swiping it away with his own pipe. "You're adept at hurting people with either one of them."

Foxy gritted his teeth, but responded with a slash of his pipe. The animatronic blocked it and the two of them entered flurry of swings. But his counterpart kept up its tirade. But Bonnie had more immediate concerns. Namely Tron Bonnie's fist coming for her head. She grabbed the arm by the wrist and threw it aside. She bounded back to her feet, as her rival recovered.

She danced on her feet. Freddy told them not to fight the Trons, but Bonnie was just aching to hit something and this guy was asking for it. Besides, Freddy wasn't here.

"That's right. Take this chance to show how great you think you are," it taunted. "Not that it's going to work."

"You talk a lot," said Bonnie, kicking at it.

"Did you want to be the pot or the kettle?" countered the Tron, stepping back. "You try so hard to make yourself so big when you're so hopelessly small." It dodged the next two kicks and caught Bonnie's third. "Working yourself all the way up…" It yanked her in and punched her in the face. "Only to get knocked down again."

Bonnie spun on the spot from the force. She shook her head, resuming her offensive while the Tron resumed its offences.

"Tell me, were you the first to suggest this little rescue mission? How easy was it for you to stick up for Mike, knowing he'd see how _cool_ you are?" It delivered its own kick to Bonnie's chest. "But you knew what coming here would involve. You'd have to face the one person you can never convince yourself of your so-called awesomeness." Two more punches to her face. "The one who knows exactly who are deep down and you could never face up to yourself." A punch Bonnie tried was intercepted. "Me."

It responded in kind with its own fist. Bonnie could feel something trickle down her face, but all she saw was the red at which that mocking face was the centre of.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed, charging into battle once again.

Foxy wasn't faring much better. Though he liked to think he was pretty good in a scrap, he hadn't fought an opponent such as this before.

"There's nothing heroic about pirates, you know." He jumped from a swipe at his legs, keeping on the defence. "They steal, pillage, burn and kill. Utter monsters. Just like you."

It was hard to keep his feelings in control. He just wanted to strike it wherever he could, but every word it spoke cut deeper than any sword stroke and all he wanted was to respond in kind.

"This doesn't change a thing about you. One good deed doesn't undo the bad." Foxy lashed out and the blow was parried. "You think just because you were the one to lead the charge that you're exempt? It only confirms everything you are. Aggressive." Another easy parry from the Tron. "Angry." A cry from Foxy when it landed one on his side. "Reckless. Unable to let go of the past, trying all you can to make up for it."

Foxy let out a roar and started to charge. Tron Foxy raised his hook hand. There was a metal flash followed by a small spray of blue fluid. Foxy reeled back, a hand clutching at his cheek while more energy fluid seeped between his fingers.

"Sorry. That was meant to cut a lot deeper." Foxy's energy fluid dripped off the tip. "Just so you know exactly how they must have felt."

"I already know," murmured Foxy, preparing to resume the fight with what little spirit he had left.

* * *

Mike ran faster and longer than he'd ever done in his life, his feet echoing loudly in the warehouse. His hope was that maybe he'd find two of the synths and they'd be able to shut Golden down. But this place was so big and he barely had enough time to collect his thoughts, to try and figure out where they were.

Every time he stopped to either listen for them, catch his breath or both, the animatronic following him would increase its pace, forcing him to run again. It kept up a steady pace, but never broke into a run. Mike knew it was trying to tire him out and that threshold wasn't far off. He wasn't the most physically fit of people and there was only so much adrenaline and fear could push him.

"Golden…" he panted desperately. "You promised… stop, please…!"

But she didn't reply. He was still unclear on what exactly had happened to her, but he had a strong feeling that she was no longer in control. He remembered all of those times she said she had no choice and wondered if she ever had been. Now, whatever it was pulling the strings wanted him dead. He didn't want that to happen, but his hopes were dwindling every second that passed, with every step the animatronic took.

He spied another door. It looked like the offices of the warehouse. He made a break for it, praying to whatever god might be listening that there was a fire exit or even just a large enough window to climb out of.

He came out into the office, a room filled with identical cubicles. He was reminded vaguely of his last job before returning to why he was in here. There were three more doors. One to the manager's office, one to a meeting room. He almost whooped with joy when he spotted the fire exit… then moaned with despair when he saw a desk had been moved in front of the exit. Golden really thought ahead.

But he had a better chance of moving this desk than that crate. He just needed a little time, a little rest. He went to grab hold it when the sounds of his pursuer reached his ears. He dove behind one of the cubical as the rhythmic metal clanking became louder. He held his breath, covering his mouth when it reached the door.

There was a tense silence. He imagined it scanning the room for him. The sound of metal feet came, followed by the door closing and another metal noise. More silence, but for a faint whirring. That had to be it turning its neck, looking for any sign of him. He had to know what it was doing somehow, but if it spotted him…

Mike peered around the edge of the cubicle, keeping his head low to the ground. The animatronic was indeed scanning for him, but it had its head turned away. He whipped back into his hiding place. He could at least use these cubicles as cover, like that scene in the Matrix when Neo was trying to escape the Agents in his office. If he could keep low, he could make it to the door and back into the warehouse. But he needed to draw its attention away.

He pulled out his nightstick from his belt. This wouldn't do him much good as a weapon, but it could be a distraction at best. He tensed his body to run while he prepared to throw it. He chucked it as far as he could and at the same time, moved as quietly as he could by the cubicles.

It seemed to work. He saw the animatronic march towards the spot where he'd thrown his nightstick. He remained crouched and crept back towards the door, but halted at what he saw. The door handle had been pulled out. The other sound he heard before was now clear. He took another quick peek over the cubicle he took cover behind. The animatronic had reached the far corner he'd thrown the nightstick and appeared to be examining it.

Mike gulped. What was he supposed to do now?

* * *

"You know, it's a funny thing," Freddy was saying. "I've known about this area for quite some time, yet I never gave much thought to its size. It's quite remarkable really. Don't you think?"

"Hmm."

"Yes." Freddy went quiet for a moment. "Yes, well, be sure to keep an eye open for Golden and our other selves. Don't want any more unpleasant surprises."

Chica nodded faintly. Perhaps if she wasn't feeling as she did now, she might have been more invested in the conversation. She might have been gazing around in wonder at the sheer size of this place and all the kinds of things that were stored here. She might have been struck with disbelief that for the second time, she was out of the restaurant.

But right now, she just wanted to go back to the kitchen and stay there for… she didn't know how long. She'd come out of course for the shows, put on her best smile for the children. But once this was over, she needed some time alone. They wouldn't mind. She was usually in the kitchen anyway, so it wouldn't make much of a difference.

It was her own stupid fault. Once again, she'd let her heart run away with her head and once again, she'd gotten it damaged. She should have known better from last time, but she'd let herself believe that there might be a chance. That Mike would… it was stupid. Why was she such a fool, yearning for a dream that could never be?

But that made her feel even worse. It made her question her feelings. David and Mike. Had she really felt some special connection, some attraction to who they were as people… or was it for what they represented? Normality. Acceptance. Some wild chance of a family and children of her own. Were they really just a means to her selfish ends?

She vaguely noted Freddy's voice. "I-I'm sorry, pardon?"

"I was askin' what the matter was, Chica," he repeated kindly.

"It's… nothing. I'm fine," she lied, hoping he wouldn't persist.

"Somethin' happened with Mike, didn't it?" She didn't reply but he took her silence as the answer. "I am very sorry, Chica. But I did warn you to be careful about this. You're a loving, compassionate person and that's wonderful but-"

"Freddy. Please. I-I'd rather not talk about it," she said.

"I see. Very well then…"

She felt a little bad for cutting him off when he was only offering advice. But he just didn't understand, even if he did mean well.

So Chica did the only thing she could when her heart was bursting, whether from sadness or happiness. She sang, softly to herself.

"Hands touch, eyes me-" She stopped when Freddy reacted. "S-Sorry. Do you…?"

"Not at all. Carry on," he encouraged. "You've always had a wonderful voice, Chica."

She smiled slightly at the compliment and went on.

 _Hands touch, eyes meet  
Sudden silence, sudden heat  
Hearts leap in a giddy whirl  
He could be that boy  
But I'm not that girl…_

Her singing was cut short when a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and flung her into a stack of metal bars. She cried when she hit the hard metal and screamed when she saw the animatronic Chica baring down upon her.

"No, you're not," it said, her voice combined with Golden's in a horrible way. "And you never will be."

Chica scrambled out of the way of its outstretched hands, retreating on the ground before managing to pull herself up. She heard Freddy call her name, but a quick look showed her he was in a scuffle with his animatronic counterpart.

She squealed when she saw her animatronic predecessor march towards her. What was she supposed to do? She didn't have powerful legs like Bonnie. Rapid speed like Foxy. Strength as great as Freddy's. Yes, as a synthetic she had all of those things but she'd never thrown a punch in her life.

"What's the matter, mother hen?" asked her predecessor. "Waiting for your handsome prince to come and save you from the horrid beast? Just another one of your sad little fantasies." It continued to stalk towards her. "He's already abandoned you, Chica. Just as, deep down, you knew he would. Really, you should be glad to have some closure. Now you know for definite that no one could ever love you in that way."

Those words made her heart ache even more. But there was a bigger worry. It was going to attack her again. She knew if she had to fight, it was now or never. It was enough to ignore her fear, to at least try and stand on her own.

Her hand shaking, she curled her fingers into a fist and swung it in a large arc at her opponent. She winced when it made contact with a metallic gong, with a slight pain against her knuckles but also a sense of elation when it staggered back. She'd punched a hole in its chest. She was doing it!

She threw another punch, this one going for its face. She screamed when the animatronic caught the fist and pulled it away. With a ripping and shower of sparks, she took the animatronic's hand with hers. She hurriedly pulled it off and threw it away. But when the animatronic spoke, it only sounded mildly interested with its mocking tone.

"Goodness me, what strength. Almost _inhuman_. Oh, wait…" It laughed at her. "Always appearing so gentle and fragile, yet there's the power that lurks beneath it all and the truth that comes with it. Something that no human will ever accept. You're not one of them, there's not even a small chance for that."

She stared at the damage she'd done. The large tear in the suit, exposing parts of the skeleton beneath where some of the metal had been dented too. Chica looked down at her hands. Had that… all been her?

"Humans always fear what's different. They always fear something powerful they can't control," it went on. "How did you ever delude yourself into thinking that they might even begin to truly love you for that? Never mind finding love, you're lucky that you've had a handful of humans that pretend to treat you like you're normal. But they know the truth and so do you."

"No!" she cried, falling to her knees. "No, no! Stop it, stop it, stop _it_!"

"Ignoring the truth when it's right in front of you," it chuckled. "Maybe you're not that far off being human."

Freddy could hear Chica's heartrending cries and wanted nothing more than to help her. But he was absorbed in his own problems right now. It was rather surreal, squaring off against a warped mirror of himself, mimicking his boxing stance. It was a combat technique he'd looked into that made the most of his physique in the simplest way possible.

However, right hooks and quick jabs weren't the only weapons his rival was using.

"Good technique, brother," it said in that horrible amalgamation of voices. "Hiding away and only acting when you need to. How very like you."

Freddy did his best to ignore it, to focus on the fight. But it was rather difficult to do so.

"You seemed rather quick to accept my offer." Freddy blocked the jabs aimed at his face and responded with one in kind. "Quick to absolve yourself of the pressure of responsibility and leadership." Freddy flinched from the hook that landed on his head, but fought through it. "Rather telling, don't you think? I would have done a better job than you could have."

"It was a responsibility we were supposed to share," he finally said, catching the robot's fist and crushing it. "One that you abandon-"

He was cut off when it kneed him in the chest. He doubled over, then was smacked to the ground when it brought down both fists on the back of his head.

"You didn't seem to make much of an effort to involve me," it retorted. "You abandoned _me_ and you condemned me to this. I suppose you could say everything that's happened since has been karma."

"We will… make it through this…" he insisted.

"Will you?" He picked him up by his lapel. "Right now, Mike is lost here somewhere." It punched him with its sparking hand. "Your little band is being torn down in more ways than one." Another punch. "Even if you do prevail over me and go skipping into the sunset, you're the one who'll have to pick up the pieces." Two punches. "You wouldn't even know where to start. You can't even help them now."

It tossed him aside like a rag doll, kicking him when he was on the floor. He could have gotten up and fought back but… maybe this was what he deserved.

* * *

Mike ducked back behind the cubicle as the animatronic's head started to turn around. He needed another plan. He considered just screaming for help, but what were the chances the others would hear him in here and how long before the animatronic silenced his screams? Perhaps if he could have enough time, he could try to move the desk out of the way enough to use the fire exit.

Something suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He only just managed to stop a scream. A very familiar tune cut through the silence. His ringtone. He whipped out his phone. The screen showed the number Golden had given him. He hurriedly pressed the end call button, but the damage had been done. The sound of metal feet was getting closer from his right.

Mike scurried off to his left away from the outside of the cubicles and towards the middle. He took cover inside a cubicle. The animatronic stopped at the spot he had been in seconds before. Thinking quickly, Mike took his phone out and left it in the drawer of the desk. Just as he started to move out of cover, his phone started ringing again.

While the animatronic went off to investigate, Mike ran crouching as quietly as he could. He wouldn't have much time, so this had to be quick. He reached the desk and set about trying to move it. Thankfully, it did budge but it didn't go unnoticed. He glanced around to see the animatronic striding towards him, but all he did was push harder. Just a little further…

It was right on top of him. He dived to the side as a fist came swinging down, hitting the air. He hurried to his feet and turned to face it, backing away until he felt something jutting out the wall. A quick look revealed it to be a water cooler. The animatronic was marching towards him with purpose. He couldn't hide from it now, but he didn't need to. He just had to get past it, get to the door and he'd be out of here. If he was quick enough.

Mike ducked under the fist which crashed into the water cooler behind him. A shower of water soaked him and Golden. Scrambling away on all fours, he banged his head on an office cubicle wall. He clutched at it and forced himself to his feet, trying to shake off his slightly dazed vision. But not fast enough.

He let out a strangled noise when a hand grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him back. He tried to pull away, but the grip was too strong. The other hand came around, clamping down on his throat. He slammed his fist against the arm, but the animatronic barely even shook. He attempted to pry the fingers away, but there was no moving them.

He struggled, he kicked, he punched. His strength was going. His vision was beginning to darken. His lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. He tried to call out but only gargled sounds were hacked out. Those two faint pinpricks of light were locked on him the whole time, as if he was some curious oddity it was studying. His struggles became weaker. He was going to die, he didn't want to die, didn't want to die, didn't want…

Suddenly, he could breathe again. He fell to the floor as the hand let him go, drinking in the air and coughing violently. He looked up to see animatronic was shaking and juddering again. The eyes were shifting from tiny white dots to large golden orbs.

"Mi… Mike…!" Golden's voice sounded like she was physically struggling to speak. "Tase… tase me… bro…!"

Mike pulled out his taser dumbly and realised what she meant. The whole suit was soaked in water from that dispenser. If he shocked her now… he hesitated for a moment.

"Do… it… now!" cried Golden.

That ended it. He pressed the switch and thrust it out at arm's length, right on the head. The suit's juddering became even more violent from the electrical energy that surged through it. Mike flinched from the sparks that danced off it, but he kept up the charge. Even through that, he could hear Golden's pained cries mingled with determined grunts.

"I'm… not… your… _PUPPET!_ " she screamed.

Her eyes literally burst in a shower of built up energy. All at once, her body went limp and at the same time, so did Mike's. He didn't even have the strength to move away from Golden's body. He just lay there with her, breathing deep and praying that it was over now.

His heart skipped a beat when he thought he saw her move. But it was just twitching from the electricity. His arms shaking, he managed to push himself to his feet though his legs were trembling. He staggered out of the office, hoping the others were alright.

* * *

kitkat1003: Who Mike ships is his business.

Andrew115342: Well here it is.

MurraySheWrote: She's put up with it for a long, long time. Everyone has their limits.

Idondoshit: Good for you.

lyokowarrior1999: They look dumb. Scott's trying so hard to make them look scary that they look silly. My reaction was mostly blind panic and fear. But these days, I'm used to it.

Janepiratefox: Nice to know, thank you.

MLPLoverForerver: I was joking.

Lord Zalgo: But my lord, I thought empathy was a concept not known to one as you.

Roboticfreeze: Those were the feelings I intended to invoke my friend.

DnWolfy: It wouldn't be any fun if I gave it all away. And thank you.

Auto-Buscus: Well someone had to do it. He of all people wasn't going to leave Mike when he was in danger. Indeed she did. Chica has put up with it for a very long time and even she has her limits. And I think you meant to say 'nick of time' there. Thanks as always.

TurtleGirl91: Glad you're enjoying it. Don't worry, I will.

Emerald2020: I confess I've never heard that term.

Alexis: I didn't even know you were in surgery. Best of luck to you and I do hope it is the last time as well.

Guest: There you go.

Fnafspringtrap: What?

Reada Read A Lot: Yes.

KitsuneBoy22: Thank you, that means a great deal to me.

HickoryDaisy: It's a possibility.

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	14. Picking up the Pieces

**Picking up the Pieces**

Mike slouched out of the offices and into the warehouses. He rubbed his neck, but abruptly yanked his hand away when he felt the marks still present there. His second brush with death that night left him feeling more than a little shaken. Twice he forgot to breathe regularly and his heart was still pounding like crazy against his chest. It also felt awkward with his damp pant leg.

But it was over now. The electrical charge had shorted out Golden. If his guess was right, then her control over the animatronics should have been disconnected. All he had to do was find the others, if they were still here.

"Fred-?" His call came out very hoarse and he coughed a few times, taking ragged breaths. "Guys? Where are you?"

He wandered around the warehouse for a while, calling for them. His immediate worry was that they assumed he'd gone back to the restaurant and had left without him. But he felt they'd want to make sure that Golden was put away again. They had to be here.

Then, he heard Foxy's voice bellowing his name. Mike quickened his pace and found him looking around with Bonnie. The pirate's face lit up at the sight of him. As Mike got closer, he grew worried at the sight of visible damage on them. Both of their clothes were ragged and torn in places. Bonnie's face had been darkened by bruises and Foxy had a cut on his cheek.

Not only that but even despite Foxy's look of relief, both of them looked… well, troubled was the best word Mike had for it. But he didn't have much time to dwell on that before Foxy reached him.

"There's me firs' mate!" He caught Mike in a hug, patting him heartily on the back. "Ye look like ye've been through hell and high water, Mike!"

"That's… putting it mildly," he coughed. "Are you both… okay?"

"Freaking hunky dory, why?" remarked Bonnie.

Foxy gave her a look before answering. "Aye, we're fine. A few scrapes, bu' nothin' we can't recover from. Wha' are ye still doin' here though? I heard yer voice jus' now, bu' why didn't ya run fer Freddy's like ye were told?"

"Things got… complicated." With some pauses, Mike told them how Golden had trapped and pursued him. Both of them were angered to hear this.

"Pus filled bilge rat!" roared Foxy. "I tell ya, if I were there, I'd be introducin' her ta the business end-a me hook, make no mistake!"

"That lying…!" Bonnie clenched fists. "I won't hurt him, she says. What a bunch of crap! You can never trust anything she says!"

Mike was about to tell them about her odd behaviour, but Bonnie cut him off.

"So what happened then? Did she hear that scream of yours and get your gender confused, so she let you get away?"

He winced internally from how venomous that was, but he finished telling about how he managed to shut her down.

"Wow, really?" She looked doubtfully at the taser. "That little thing? Well, I guess it is true what they say about size and how you use it."

"Fine work indeed, me lad!" praised Foxy, clapping him on the back again and nearly sending him falling. "We'll be havin' a celebration tonight!"

"But I gotta say, I wanna know something 'cause Freddy did raise a good point before." Bonnie regarded Mike suspiciously. "How exactly did you end up letting yourself get caught? 'Cause it seriously seems like you just walked in here and let her hold you hostage."

Mike looked away from the intensity of her gaze. He knew this was coming, but he was reluctant to tell them. He feared their reactions. How would they feel that he'd kept this hidden from them? But he was again saved momentarily by Foxy.

"Be fair on the lad, Bon. He's been through a lot," he said.

"While we've just been lounging on sun chairs and sipping margaritas?" countered Bonnie.

"Not sayin' we all haven't, bu' I think we should save tha' business fer when we get back ta the pizzeria," he argued. "I say we find Chica and Freddy, then make tracks as fast as we can."

Bonnie regarded him for a moment before shrugging. "Fine. Don't wanna be hanging around here anyway."

She walked away from them without waiting. Mike looked after her. Freddy said that Golden had created nightmares for them while they were asleep. He could have a good guess for what Foxy's was, but what had she done to Bonnie to make her so surly and bitter? He looked to Foxy who offered a sympathetic grimace and motioned that they should follow.

They were only searching for a few minutes before they found Freddy and Chica. The latter saw Mike and quickened her pace until she abruptly stopped when she reached him. She then stood awkwardly, not looking at him.

"I'm… I'm glad you're okay…" she murmured.

"Y-Yeah. You too," he replied stiffly.

"I'm thankful that you're all safe," said Freddy sincerely. "I take it that from the fact you're still here and your ragged state, Mike, that Golden wasn't inclined to let you depart?"

Mike wasn't really up to retelling the experience again, but once again it was Foxy who stepped in for him.

"Aye, so it was. But our Mike here, he wasn't goin' down so easy. After masterfully avoidin' her efforts ta find him and jus' as he was facin' the jaws-a death, he soaked her ta the bone, then gave her a good shock with his taser!" he told them proudly.

"Um, yeah that's pretty much the gist of it," muttered Mike.

Freddy's expression clouded momentarily with a look of bereavement, but it passed just as quickly as it arrived.

"Fine work, Mike," he said. "I suspected when the animatronics returned to their default programmin' that Golden had been taken offline. Right now, they're just walkin' around and spoutin' random pre-recorded phrases."

"Thanks, Freddy. I-I'm sorry I couldn't… w-with Golden, I mean…" He sighed. "I-I didn't have a choice. Sh-She could have…"

"I understand. You have nothin' to be sorry for. It is curious though, how much of an interest she seemed to have in you and how she claimed before to have shown you what happened on the night she was deactivated." He held Mike in a studying gaze. "I haven't forgotten what I said that I'll be wantin' an explanation for when we get back."

"I…" Mike cringed inwardly as they looked at him expectantly. "I… I will."

"Good," nodded Freddy approvingly. "Now, I suggest we round up the animatronics and Golden's… body… get them turned off and back where they're supposed to be, then get goin'."

"Hey look, one's coming this way," pointed Bonnie. "Guess that makes our job easier."

They all looked to see an animatronic stumbling towards them down one of the aisles. The Freddy one by the look of it. From the way it was practically dragging itself along, it looked like it had been badly damaged.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to…" Bonnie stopped in her tracks and glared. "Wait a second… I thought you said you'd shocked her!"

When the animatronic shuffled into the light, Mike saw what she meant. The animatronic was Golden. Even though it looked like her body was barely supporting itself, she was still online. He took a couple of steps back so the synths were between him and it. All of them tensed at the sight of her.

"Oh, h-h-he did." Her voice was even more garbled and skipped a little. "He shocked m-m-me right t-t-to my c-c-c-c-c-crab-apple." She grunted and slapped her head. "Core. Sorry, v-v-voice box damage. A-A-As if it w-wasn't bad e-e-e-enough."

Bonnie was shaking. "You think that's bad? Believe me, I can do a lot worse. Here, I'll show you!"

"Now, hold on a minute-"

Whatever Golden had to say was cut off when Bonnie delivered a sharp kick to her chest. She crashed to the floor on her back.

"G-Great, just wh-w-w-what I n-needed. M-More d-d-d-d-dynamite." She smacked her head again. "Damage. That's r-r-really irritating."

"That was nothing! I'll give you some _real_ damage!"

Bonnie started forward, but Golden desperately held up one of her hands.

"Wait, wait! I-I-I'm done! M-M-Mike, h-help me!" she cried.

"That's some nerve, ya wretch," growled Foxy. "Ya try ta choke him like a chicken, then yer on her knees beggin' fer his help?!"

"That w-w-w-wasn't me!" she insisted. "Th-Th-That w-w-was someth-th-thing else m-m-making me!"

"Oh yeah, we totally believe you. But now it's gone, you've realised the error of your ways and we're all gonna be best friends, is that right?" asked Bonnie.

She jerked her head towards her. "S-Sarcasm r-really does s-s-suit you, B-Bonnie. I-I-Insincere, just l-like y-y-you."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Bonnie's tone was laden with anger now. "I think you said, 'Bonnie, please tear my head of and toss it in the ocean so I can join the rest of the bottom feeders! Oh pretty please!"'

"You u-u-usually do p-p-prefer to hear what you wan-t-t-t-tt to hear. Why stop n-n-now?" retorted Golden.

"I'd watch what ya say if I were ye, lass," warned Foxy. "Yer not in any position ta be talkin' down ta anyone."

Golden mimicked the sound of a phone ringing. "Yes, h-h-hello? Oh, is th-th-that you ket-t-t-t-ttle? Yes, this is p-p-pot. What w-w-was that? I'm black? Well, good t-t-t-to know. And you're a horrible m-m-monster w-who eats p-p-people."

"Bite yer tongue!" growled Foxy.

"Wouldn't y-y-you prefer to do it?"

"Enough!" Freddy said firmly. "Golden, if you wish to explain yourself, please do so. However, if you continue to antagonise my friends, I will not hesitate to turn you off again."

"H-H-How easily h-h-history repeat-s-s-s-s, dear b-b-brother." If Freddy was bothered by her remark, he didn't show it. "B-But I am b-b-being honest. Th-This is a-all me now. B-But whenever I tried t-t-to harm M-Mike, that w-wasn't. Mike, you s-s-saw yourself."

They all looked to Mike. "Well um… she was acting pretty weird especially before she came after me. When she did, everything that happened… it was l-like she wasn't in control. She told me to run, to get away from her wh-when it happened then…"

"E-E-Exactly. W-W-Wait, hold on…" Her body suddenly went limp. When she spoke, her voice was a lot clearer. "There. I've diverted all power I have to the voice box. I'm clearly going to need it. Anyway, you're right, Mike. I wasn't in control. Not all the time, anyway."

"You'll forgive me if I find that hard to believe," said Freddy.

"No, I won't," she retorted. "Whatever it is, it's been in there for a while. Like a little voice inside my head pushing me. But once I was back online, it was much more than that. Every time I thought of doing something that wasn't part of what it wanted, it made sure I did. When I said I didn't want to hurt Mike, I honestly had no intention of doing so. However, the other guy didn't. It wanted this seen through to the end."

Upon hearing that, Mike recalled moments like that. When he suggested her seeking redemption. When the others had arrived and her hand was forced. When she'd cornered him and he denied her offer to join him.

"W-Was that what happened? The uh… whatever it was took over w-when you…?" Mike didn't finish, but Golden got what he meant.

"Yes. I tried to stop it, I did, but… I couldn't… that _face_ …" Her tone became beseeching. "I swear to you, Mike, I'm so sorry for what happened with you. You were never meant to get so caught up in it. When you shocked me, the other guy took the full force while I was tucked away safely and I was able to burn him out."

"Did it hurt?" All of them were a little surprised by Chica's unexpected question. "I noticed before, before Foxy saved M-Mike… it looked like you were in pain."

"Yes. It did," she replied simply.

"I'm… sorry that you had to endure that," she said sincerely. "I know it might not mean much, but I am."

Golden didn't reply for a while. When she did, it was bitter and cynical.

"You're right. It doesn't mean much."

Chica recoiled visibly but rather than simply hiding away, she glared at Golden in a way that sent a shiver down Mike's spine.

"It is regrettable that you had to endure that, Golden," said Freddy, stepping in swiftly. "However, you also mentioned that there were times that you had free will. I think it would not be farfetched to assume that the moments you were settlin' your score with us are accounted among them."

"Your point being?" she asked testily.

"Bein' that you were still willin' to do us harm. I'm sorry to have to say this, Golden, but if that is the case then you leave me with little choice," he answered solemnly.

"No," she said at once. "No, no you're not."

"Yes, we are," said Bonnie. "You seriously think we're gonna let you go Scott free after all that?"

"Ya brought this on yerself," growled Foxy.

"It's what you deserve," put in Chica darkly.

They started to walk towards her, Freddy at their helm. Mike watched as their shadows darkened Golden's crumpled body. Her limbs suddenly jerked to life again. She feebly tried to crawl away from them, making ragged, frightened noises like a cornered animal. It was when they were almost upon her that she cried out in defiance.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS TO ME AGAIN!" The outburst made them falter in their advance. "If any of you take one step closer, I will leave this body and you will never find me again!"

"Yeah, how is that a bad thing?" snapped Bonnie.

"Like this. You know this place has security cameras, right? What were you going to do about the footage they captured of all you wrecking everything?" she challenged. "You think they're going to ignore evidence of a group of people who can punch an animatronic without flinching? The police will use it. They'll launch an investigation into what happened. They'll track you down and then what do you think will happen? They'll _never_ leave you alone if they discover the truth."

Mike looked around on reflex, looking for any sign of these cameras. Nothing good would come if Golden's warning proved true. At best, they'd be arrested for damage to property and when they determined the true nature of the synths…

Freddy recognised this too. "What do you propose?"

"I can alter the footage. Let me into the system and I can make it look like it was the animatronics who went haywire and broke everything. If you leave them wandering around, they'll be found the next morning along with my version of events and you'll all be safe from the law."

"Still lying," Mike blurted out. "E-Even now."

"Mike…" Her voice lost its edge. "I'm truly sorry for deceiving you. I should have figured out how you'd react to it, considering what we discussed before. I really did enjoy the time I spent talking to you. You're the first person I spoke to in so long and I do consider you a friend. If it'll make you feel better, you can monitor me while I alter the footage. As for what happens to me after… I'll let you decide."

"W-What does that mean?" he asked.

"Exactly what it means. When it comes down to if I… if I stay and rot here or if I'm given another chance, I want you to be the one to make that choice. I'll go along with whatever decision you make willingly. If you do decide to let me stay online, I'll agree to any terms you may have regarding that. You have my word on that."

Mike was shocked by this. Was she really trusting him with something as big as her freedom? The wary part of his mind warned him that this could easily be a trick. She'd already lied to him once, she could easily do it again if it suited her purpose.

"That shouldn't be his choice to make," said Freddy firmly.

"I already said I'm not letting any of you make it!" she snapped. "I only want one person to do it and it's him!"

"But… why?" Mike croaked. "Why me?"

"I've already told you, Mike. In many ways, you and I are the same. I know that you've experienced how it feels to be left on your own after doing things that from your point of view were necessary. But then you look back and think… maybe there was another way. But something else pushed you down the path you took. Now, you have stick with it and hope it takes you somewhere better." Her voice took on a pleading tone. "Mike, please. I know you're angry with me, I know I lied but please let me go on. I don't want to go back to the dark, not again. Please…"

Mike stared down at Golden. He looked around at the others. Freddy was watching with something akin to hope on his face. Bonnie caught his eye and shook her head. Chica's eyes were flickering from Mike to the Golden, always lingering longer on the latter with that same chilling look she had before. Foxy looked with a strange curiosity. Whichever decision he made, Mike knew that not all of them were going to be pleased with either. Yet here he was, with this weight on his shoulders.

Whilst Golden was telling him that she'd transmit the altered images to his phone so he could monitor her progress, Mike's mind worked away to decide Golden's fate. Once she was finished and returned to her suit, everyone waited for a full minute but it felt a lot longer than that. Every eye was on Mike, further adding to the pressure he felt.

Finally, Mike made his choice and they departed the warehouse, with Mike preparing as best he could to face the consequences.

* * *

Mike noted that around two and a half hours of his shift had passed by the time they got back. As when they'd rescued him, Foxy was the one to carry him back with Mike in awe of the speeds they could run. Even while he was carrying Mike, Foxy was still able to keep up while they ran at speeds that could outstrip any car without even looking tired.

With their speed, they were able to return quickly and quietly. They hid in the shadows from a white van that drove down the streets before making a break for the restaurant. Mike took the time to get his keys and lock the door, as well as to change out of his damp trousers into a spare pair Mr Johnson kept in the manager's office. Some security guard he was.

With heavy footsteps, Mike trudged downstairs. The night had been taxing on them all, but it wasn't over yet. Freddy had called them all to a general meeting in the backstage area. Mike knew this would be where he'd have to explain himself. From there, he'd have to face the impact his ultimate decision regarding Golden.

It had surprised everyone, even Mike to a certain extent. He had a nagging feeling that she knew what he'd decide and had been counting on it. Maybe it was true. But in the end, it didn't matter much. Mike had done it. All he had to do now was try not to worry about it too badly, even if that was next to impossible.

He stopped at the door. He stared at it for a while, his fist lingering on its surface about to knock. He knew there was no point in waiting. If he took too long, one of them would come and find him. Even so, he couldn't help but be scared of what waited on the other side of this door. His hand was trembling when he finally gave a shaky knock on the door.

"Come in, son," came Freddy's neutral tone.

Mike pushed open the door. Freddy was sat in his usual spot. Bonnie was perched on the end with her legs crossed and her arms folded. Chica stood at the opposite end with her hands clasped in front of her. Foxy was on the other side of the table from Freddy by an empty seat directly opposite Freddy.

"Have a seat," offered Freddy.

His whole body shaking now, Mike went to the empty seat. He fell into it, gripping the table like he was going to fall out of it. He took another look around at them. Foxy gave him a kind of encouraging look. Bonnie glowered out of the corner of her eye. Chica stared at him with an expression Mike could hardly stand to endure from the guilt it caused him.

"So," Freddy began, "here we are. It has been a harrowin' evenin' for all of us, to say the least. We've all been through a great deal. Now is the time that we reflect upon our experiences and what we might learn from them. First of all, Mike. I have to say your decision regardin' Golden was rather unexpected."

Mike studied Freddy's face, but his features betrayed nothing. He swallowed and nodded nervously.

"Unexpected indeed," repeated Freddy. "I cannot honestly say whether you made the right decision or the wrong one. I suppose eventually, time will tell. For now, we shall simply deal with the immediate impact as best we can. Though I have to say, part of me is a little grateful to you for choosin' not to turn her off." The corners of his mouth raised slightly. "You continue to surprise me, Mike."

"R-Right," muttered Mike. "Wh-What are y-you um… going to do?"

"Once we're finished here, we'll have her moved from the security room and stored back here. Her head won't look out of place next to all of the others in here," he said, gesturing around.

"Y-You uh… think she'll k-keep her word t-to her terms?" asked Mike.

"Well, while her integrity is still very much in question, I have a feelin' that as far as you're concerned, she'll adhere to the conditions you outlined. Havin' said that, I'll see if I can't rig somethin' up to make sure she can't leave the endoskeleton head she's now confined to. Wonder if there might be somethin' like that already.

"Which," he continued, "brings me to the meat of that particular issue. How exactly is it that you came to be familiar with her in the first place? Now, be honest Mike. We've had enough of deception for one evenin'."

Mike felt an unpleasant sensation in his gut from that. With a trembling voice and more than a few pauses, he told them about his interactions with Golden. How he'd originally learned about her. What she'd told him, including keeping her return a secret. A few times, it looked like Bonnie or Foxy were going to say something but Freddy silenced them with a look.

"I-I'm sorry I d-d-didn't t-tell you s-sooner," he stammered out when he was finished. "I… I just w-wanted to know."

"Was it worth it then?" Bonnie asked icily.

"Bonnie," said Freddy warningly. "Yes, I imagine that your curiosity must have been piqued when you were told about her." He turned his eyes to Chica. "Had I known you had been informed in some way about her, I might have been able to formulate a way to properly tell you about her."

Chica cringed slightly. "I'm… sorry Freddy. He wanted to know if there were any more of us, s-synthetics I mean, so I t-told him."

Mike opened his mouth to say it was unfair to hold Chica responsible, but Freddy turned his attention back to Mike and it came out as an unintelligible mutter.

"Yes, you do hold an intense curiosity about you in tandem with an open mind, Mike," said Freddy. "It's what kept you in this job when you first learned of us. It's what led you to discover Foxy. It's what led you to learn about Golden. In many ways, I admire such an inquirin' mind. However, as a certain long-bearded wizard I know once said, curiosity must be exercised with caution, not to mention a sense of trust. You should have told us about her return, Mike."

"I'm sorry," murmured Mike. "I just… I w-wanted to know. I _had_ to know."

"Yes, I understand that. But everyone has secrets, Mike. I'm sure there are things you wouldn't be entirely comfortable tellin' us about either." Mike broke Freddy's gaze at that. "Exactly. We trust you that there must be good reasons you keep such things to yourself. Just as you should have trusted us with this." Freddy closed his eyes and sighed. "I think we're concluded here. Foxy, would you mind goin' to get Golden's head and bringin' it in here?"

"Aye, Fred." He gave Mike a pat on the back as he left.

The sensation in his stomach becoming more unpleasant with every passing second, Mike rose from his chair and left the room. No sooner had he stepped out of the door, he was forcibly turned around by Bonnie.

"Just wanted to say, thanks again for keeping us in the dark about this," she said bitterly. "Just let someone like Golden have free reign, why not? What could have _possibly_ gone wrong?"

"B-Bonnie, I said I'm s-sorry," Mike insisted weakly.

"Well, that just makes everything fine, doesn't it? What did she mean anyway, that you and her are the same?" persisted Bonnie. "Something that you're not telling us, Mikey?"

The question caught Mike off-guard. "N-No! I m-mean I… I-I don't… I can't, I don't…"

"Oh, so that's how it is. With us, you need to know every little thing but when it comes to you, you clam up. Really stand up, Mike. _So_ glad to know we can count on you." She started to stomp off, stopping to watch Foxy carry Golden's head past. "Hey and congrats on making a new friend too. I'll bet you two will get along _so_ well. You can both lie and keep dirty secrets together!"

Mike flinched at the sound of the supply cupboard door slamming. He cast his eyes around, seeing Chica sidling towards the kitchen.

"Ch-Chica, wait," he started. "I w-wanted-"

"Mike." Her voice was flat, devoid of the compassionate essence it usually held. "Please… leave me alone. I don't really want to talk to you right now. I'm sorry…"

"Chica…" This was somehow worse than Bonnie's treatment.

"I've said to you so many times you're a part of our family, Mike." She didn't even look back. "I… I thought that meant you'd trust us more…"

She withdrew into the kitchen without even sparing so much of a glance as the doors closed behind her. Mike stared after her, partly conscious of the couple of tears that started to trickle down his face. It had been a long time since he'd felt this lonely. Not since…

He shook his head furiously, as if the memories and the feelings would be just forced out of his mind like that. He felt anger mingle with his shame. At Golden for doing this and making him feel this way. At himself for letting this happen to his friends.

Mike went back to the security room, collapsing into his seat. He resisted the temptation to look at the monitor to see what everyone was doing. He doubted they'd appreciate being spied on top of everything else. He noted his sketchbook was out on the desk, open on the drawing of Golden. He grabbed it, crumpled it into a ball and threw it furiously towards the bin. It missed, but he didn't care.

Then, he took a second glance when he saw the holes that had been torn through it. He turned it over to examine them. How on earth had that happened?

"Ah. Tha' was me." He looked to see Foxy standing in the doorway, looking sheepish. "I couldn't resist a lil' look and when I saw the one ya did of her… sorry, lad."

"I-It's fine," Mike said. "I don't think they went through anything." Silence fell between them. "You um… not going back to the Cove?"

"If it be all the same ta you, sir, ya look like ya need the company. Permission ta step inta yer cabin?" he asked.

Mike almost said no, but stopped himself. "Yeah. Come on in."

"Thank ye, sir." He plonked himself onto the extra chair. "Wha' a night, eh?"

"That's one way of saying it," murmured Mike. "You think there's a-any chance of talking to, you know, anyone else tonight?"

"I wouldn't try it, Mike. Give it a few nights maybe, then try. We're all goin' ta need a lil' time after all-a this," advised Foxy.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," agreed Mike. "How come you're not… you know?"

"Well, Freddy's not wrong. Ya shoulda told us about Golden a lot sooner. Bu', at the same time, I also reckon tha'… maybe we shoulda told ya about Golden a lot sooner too," he admitted. "After all ye've done fer us, I figure ya had a right ta an explanation if ya asked fer one. Maybe then, ya wouldn't have been so quick ta believe her side-a things." He paused to consider something. "Ya probably want ta know what I think-a yer choice too?"

"I'm not sure I do," joked Mike half-heartedly. "But um… go ahead."

"I'll say this much fer ya, Mike. Ya have a penchant fer pickin' up lost causes. Golden. Gettin' us outside when we never thought we would. Me." He barked out a laugh. "Ya give yer all when it comes ta us and I don't see it bein' any different with her. Can't say if it'll turn out well in the end, but ya never know. Maybe it will."

Mike managed a small smile. "Thanks, Foxy."

"No trouble, lad. Yer me friend, least I can do," he shrugged. "Not really sure when I got so optimistic though."

"Yeah, I was about to say," said Mike with a small laugh. "Hey uh, thanks for saving me."

Foxy inclined his head. "Ya did the same fer me, lad. I wasn't goin' ta let ya get gutted by some twisted mirror-a meself. Not again and not ta ye."

"Thanks." Another thought occurred to Mike. "Hey, Foxy? If Golden was telling the truth, about being controlled I mean… who do you think it was?"

"Can't rightly say, Mike," he answered. "I gotta feelin' but I'm not sure meself. But I'll tell ya this fer nothin': If they got some grief with us, I'm gonna have ta be the firs' thing ta go through."

Mike felt some comfort from that, but a pit of worry still began to form in his gut. If there really was someone else, they had no qualms about killing. Mike already had one close shave with death. He wasn't too eager about the possibility of another.

* * *

One more to go, folks. Don't touch that dial.

l OmegaInfinity l: A strange oxymoron, your name. An endless end. Thought provoking really. I'm happy to know you find my story intriguing. Secrets are a good premise to build on, as long as the payoff is satisfying.

Elhini Prime: It's what I aim to do, as well as delight, entertain and evoke.

Idondoshit: I think you posted your review before you were done typing it. But thank you.

DnWolfy: Bonnie- Let 'em have it, Kratos! Chica- Bastet, join my song. Freddy- Come, Aidos! Foxy- Ta the locker with 'em, Mazu! Here's the next chapter for you. Now, wait till the next one. I just do the best I can to tell a story. So far it seems to be working out.

Dreamdrawer098: Writing a proper published work is something I've considered. Just I'd have no idea where to begin. But this is an enjoyable hobby to say the least. Thank you though, it means a great deal.

Reada Read-a-Lot: It's the only answer you need. But I do so love that movie and Ultron.

Roboticfreeze: I actually can't delete reviews posted by registered users. I can delete anonymous reviews though but don't worry, yours is fine. If you really want to know, that chapter probably won't surface again until probably the next book.

Auto-Buscus: Don't feel dumb. You're not dumb. Sorry, but those battles are over but their battles with themselves will be resolved in time. Thanks as always and it was intended to be longer, since this was quite a build-up.

Guest: Go nuts. Just be sure that if you do use the personalities of the synthetics and Mike here, credit me properly. I'll even have a look if you send me a link.

FnafLord29: That would imply they were together to begin with.

Alexis: You're too sweet, thank you. And that's great news!

Anon: These are the original animatronics that the synthetics replaced working at Freddy's. As you say, like in the game.

DarknessEverlasting: Thank you and don't worry, I shall. You stay gold too.

Blazewriter69: Tell, don't show.

Monkey999Boy: Sorry you'll be kept waiting and nope.

Lord Zalgo: He is among people that could meld him like silly putty if they wanted to. And he could be.

Guest: Answer: where he always has been. I shall.

KitsuneBoy22: Thanks

Jean: He is.

Blazewriter69: Possibly.

Be strong, be swift, be just.


	15. Minor Setbacks

**Minor Setback**

The construction was going along smoothly. Most of the foundations had already been laid. It was near the edge of town, but not too far from its centre. Far enough from its soon-to-be rival that it wouldn't draw attention from them. The exact nature of what they were building was being kept mostly secret, only that it was to be a new restaurant. They told him that it would be ready for opening in about a month.

Sid Hawthorne smiled with satisfaction inside the confines of his office. His new boss was very pleased hear this news and so was he. A month was long enough to finish the project he'd been working on. One that, again, his boss was very eager to see. It would make him substantial profits when they were unveiled. Sid, however, had another purpose in mind for it.

His smile grew a little wider. This had been a long time coming. It had been long and arduous, but his patience would reward him. He'd finally be able to prove that old fool wrong and his lapdog Johnson too. Just too bad the former wouldn't be around to see it. It served a practical purpose too. The phase coming up would require the elimination of competition. His new boss would want to see that it was and he'd merely be filling his interests. In his own way, of course.

Sid turned around at the sound of his computer flashing. The only light in the dimmed room. The next piece of his puzzle should be about to fall into place. He sat down, looking at the supposedly blank screen. Blank to anyone else, perhaps. But Sid knew better than anyone else.

"Report," he said curtly. A file icon appeared on the screen. In it were a number of documents on specific individuals. "This is everything you managed to wean off Golden?" An affirmative came through. "Excellent. You're running far better than I could have anticipated."

A smiley face came up on the screen. His top man really was an efficient worker. Well, he said man... He laughed faintly in response and began to look through the files. Four in particular caught his interest.

Sid had already suspected they might exist, but these files confirmed it. The old man really had managed to bring four synthetics into operation and they'd been hidden here the whole time he'd been engaged in that globetrotting pursuit of Fitzbar. He'd assumed that he was one step ahead of Sid, right through to the end. But the old man couldn't outrun nature as much as he might have tried. Now, Sid had taken his place. The natural course of things, with perhaps a little more of a push.

He looked through the file of his old associate. Johnson was still kicking, trying to fill in Fitzbar's shoes, part of the concealment ploy Fitzbar had admittedly tricked him well with. The old man was wilier than he'd thought and of course he'd recruit the only other person who'd shared his views. But Johnson was unsuited for handling the incredible technology he'd created. They both were. They didn't see its full potential, not like Sid. And he was going to exploit it fully.

It seemed he'd found another new recruit. Two long term security guards working the night shift, though their jobs detailed here were far beyond typical security detail. He read through the file with some satisfaction. Emotional, somewhat cowardly, easily unnerved, poor coping with stress and pressure, swift emotional attachment when offered trust and understanding. Something of a shameful past as well. Perhaps he could use that if he needed to. But this Mike Schmidt wasn't the priority at the moment.

Johnson would be the one to target when the time came. Part of him found it distasteful what he had in mind for his former friend, but he should have chosen the right side. This was necessary for what he had in mind. Golden had been something of a contingency plan in his own game in tandem with Fitzbar's. He hadn't really expected her to pay off so well, but her cooperation had been very helpful.

"Are you still in contact with her?" A negative response came up. "Oh? That's a shame. I don't suppose you're clear on what happened?" He read through the reply with vague interest. "Hmm. How likely it is do you think she'll be able to come to a conclusion of what happened and track us down?" A figure appeared on screen, along with some variables. "This looks acceptable. That's unfortunate, but we have her trigger as well. I'm certain you can manage her if she does attempt anything." A positive affirmation cropped up, followed by an inquiry. "Of course. Here are the physical specifications. Though you could access them yourself if you wished." Sid laughed a little at the reply. "How polite of you."

He put the files on display mode, straight from the development laboratory. A small smile came to his lips when he remembered the circumstances he'd at last managed to acquire these and a pleasant shiver when he reminded himself that he had done this. The old man had tried to erase the data, but he'd managed to recover it. Fragmented in places, but that didn't stop him.

Sid had worked tirelessly ever since he'd managed to get his hands on the specifications. He'd not only recreated the designs, but had improved on them as well. His creations would be perfect examples of that. It wouldn't be long after this that he'd be able to move on to much grander projects.

"I think that should be clear. The bodies should be ready for cerebral transfer by the end of the month. All we need now are minds to fill them. I take it our newest recruit is still willing to cooperate on that part?" He nodded at the answer. "Very good. Hopefully then, our new toys will be ready to play with very soon…"

* * *

And so we come to the end of another Synthetic Saga story. Thanks again to everyone following. I would note some people, but I don't want anyone else feeling unappreciated. I appreciate and read every review I get. Glad that you've all been enjoying it.

Next time, it's another dip into the past while also trying to repair the damage in the present to prepare for the danger looming in the future. Until next time my friends.

Be strong, be swift, be just.

TurtleGirl91: Sorry, that's your fill for now XD

MajorVidGamer: Don't worry about it. Short chapters tells me that someone is used to the ten thousand feasts of the Dusk books XD These chapters are as long as I think they need to be. You know personal things can be difficult to talk about, especially the considered loss of a loved one. Thank you, I hope you enjoyed it.

Lord Zalgo: Yes, that is pretty much Foxy's motivations in a nutshell. Yes, one can hope.

DnWolfy: Noooo, I wouldn't end it there. As you say, loose ends to tie up. As to that question… *taps nose* Also, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No.

freighttrain448: My thoughts are like mighty Cthulhu: Incomprehensible and likely to drive any mind to insanity. Let them sleep in the R'yleh that is my mind.

Roboticfreeze: It takes practice and dedication, my friend not to mention enjoyment. My advice: read a lot, not just fanfiction. Read books, see how they do things and take a leaf from them.

HickoryDaisy: I'm not familiar with those stories. I may give them a look.

lyokowarrior1999: I would certainly like him to be in it. As for the movie, I'm ambivalent towards it. If it's decent, great. If not, I'm sure it'll be amusing to see anyway.

Thegreekgodhades: No promises.

Idondoshit: Whatevs brah.

Emerald2020: It is for this book, but not for this series.

Alexis: I don't know, was it?

Auto-Buscus: Well of course it wouldn't be. There are consequences for this and they can't be resolved in such a short amount of time. And I know longer know you if you don't know who GLaDOS is. Be gone. But seriously, thanks man and yes, you are. Don't be

Jean: Next book, my friend.


End file.
